Department for Transport

Cycling and Walking: Schools

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will take steps with the Secretary of State for Education to (a) promote walking and cycling to school and (b) develop a reward scheme for children who participate.

Trudy Harrison: Officials from this Department have regular discussions with their colleagues from the Department for Education on how best to enable more walking, wheeling and cycling to school. The Government has a statutory objective, recently confirmed in the second statutory Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy published on 6 July, to increase to 55% by 2025 the percentage of children aged 5-10 who usually walk to school. The Government has pledged to invest £2 billion in active travel over the current Parliament, and this is allowing many local authorities to invest in better and safer infrastructure, such as school streets, to enable more walking and cycling to school. The Department is also providing £2 million of funding this financial year for a Walk To School programme delivered by the charity Living Streets. The programme includes incentives such as badges to encourage more children to walk to school. The Government is providing a record £20 million this financial year to support cycle training for children through the Bikeability programme. This should give many more children the confidence to cycle safely to school as well as for other journeys.

Roads: Shrewsbury

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether officials in his Department have plans to hold meetings in the near future with the leadership of Shropshire Council to discuss the progress of the building of the North West Relief Road in Shrewsbury.

Karl McCartney: DfT officials are happy to meet with officials in Shropshire Council to discuss progress with the Shrewsbury North West Relief Road.

Driving Tests

Michelle Donelan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he plans to take further steps to tackle the backlog in practical driving tests.

Karl McCartney: The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) operates a 24-week booking window for car tests and there are test slots available within this window. The DVSA recognises the high demand for learners wanting to take their practical driving test and is working hard to provide as many practical driving test appointments as possible and has a number of measures in place to do this. These include offering a national recovery allowance and annual leave buy back to examiners, asking all those qualified to conduct tests, but who do not do so as part of their current day job, to return to conducting tests, and conducting out of hours testing (such as on public holidays and weekends). The DVSA is also recruiting more than 300 driving examiners across Great Britain to help meet the increasing demand for driving tests.

Uber

Navendu Mishra: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what meetings (a) he, (b) his predecessors and (c) officials in his Department have had with representatives of Uber since 2012.

Karl McCartney: Ministers and officials meet with a wide range of taxi and private hire vehicle stakeholders, including meetings with Uber. These meetings provide an opportunity to hear the views of the sector. Details of ministerial meetings from 2009 have been published and are available at www.gov.uk/government/collections/dft-ministerial-gifts-hospitality-travel-and-meetings. This information is updated on a quarterly basis.

Bus Services: Care Leavers

Navendu Mishra: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if his Department will provide additional funding to Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council to help ensure care leavers aged 18-25 are able to access free bus passes.

Navendu Mishra: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the Independent Review on Children’s Social Care response, if he will meet with the hon Member for Stockport and Barnardo’s to discuss the potential merits for providing greater access to bus travel for care leavers 18 to 25- year-olds in England.

Karl McCartney: The English National Concessionary Travel Scheme is enshrined in legislation and was introduced in April 2008 to provide free England-wide off-peak bus travel to eligible older and disabled people. The current scheme costs around £1 billion annually and any changes, such as introducing free statutory bus travel for other groups, must be carefully considered for their impact on the scheme’s financial sustainability. Such changes would also require changes to the relevant legislation. Local authorities in England have the power to offer concessions in addition to their statutory obligations, such as extending free bus travel to other eligible groups. Discretionary concessions are funded by authorities through local resources such as Council Tax, based upon their assessment of local need and funding priorities. Bus companies also understand that helping young people to use the bus now may encourage them to use the bus in the future as they move from education and training into full time employment, and offer concessions of their own.

Railways: Suffolk

Jo Churchill: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to improve resilience and reliability at Haughley Junction.

Wendy Morton: The Department is considering proposals for performance enhancements at Haughley Junction. While I cannot discuss individual projects at present, I remain committed to providing clarity in the upcoming update to the Rail Network Enhancement Portfolio (RNEP).

Electric Scooters: Regulation

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress has been made on his Department’s plans to introduce regulations for e-scooters; and what support his Department is giving the police to enforce existing rules regulating e-scooter use.

Trudy Harrison: The Transport Bill announced in the Queens Speech, offers an opportunity to set out a new, adaptable regulatory framework for small, light electric vehicles. It is our intention that the Transport Bill will create a Low-Speed Zero Emission Vehicle category that is independent from the cycle and motor vehicle categories. New powers in the Bill would subsequently allow the Government to decide which vehicles will fall into this category, and how they should be regulated to ensure safe use. No decisions have been made on the details of the regulations for e-scooters. We will consult before any new arrangements come into force, and all interested parties will have a chance to shape the new regime. Enforcement of road traffic law and how available resources are deployed to tackle illegal riding of e-scooters is an operational matter for chief officers according to local policing plans. The Government will continue to support the police by ensuring they have the tools needed to enforce road traffic legislation including those relating to electric scooters.

Doncaster Sheffield Airport and Peel Group

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has (a) met with and (b) received representations from (i) Doncaster Sheffield Airport and (ii) Peel Group in the last six months.

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has received any information on the future of Doncaster Sheffield Airport from (a) that airport or (b) the Peel Group.

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when his Department was first notified provided by Doncaster Sheffield Airport and/or Peel Group about the potential closure of Doncaster Sheffield Airport.

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what (a) financial and (b) other support his Department has provided to Doncaster Sheffield Airport and/or Peel Group in the last two years.

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has taken steps to support the workforce at Doncaster Sheffield Airport.

Robert Courts: I recognise that Doncaster Sheffield Airport’s (DSA) review into the future of the airport will be concerning for passengers and people who work at the airport. The Department was notified on the 13 July along with other local stakeholders about the announcement. My officials are in contact with the airport to understand its plans and I am due to meet Peel Group later this week. It would be inappropriate to comment whilst the review is ongoing. However, we hope that the review will be able to ensure a future for aviation at DSA. Since the start of the pandemic, we estimate that the air transport sector (airlines, airport and related services) has benefitted from around £8bn of government support. This includes support through loan guarantees, support for exporters, the Bank of England’s Covid Corporate Financing Facility, the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, and the Airport and Ground Operations Scheme (AGOSS) from which DSA was awarded £1,758,720 in grant payments. Ministers and officials engage extensively with the Aviation industry on a regular basis. As the Aviation Minister, I visited Doncaster Sheffield Airport on 3 June meeting with the Chairman of Peel Airports and the leadership team of the airport. Officials from the Department continue to meet with representatives from DSA as part of routine engagement on a range of matters.

Department for Transport: Advertising

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much their Department has spent on advertising in (a) 2020, (b) 2021 and (c) 2022.

Trudy Harrison: The following table provides the total spend on advertising for the core Department, covering financial years 2019-20 to 2021-22: Financial YearExpenditure (£m)2019-2014.42020-216.42021-229.8 Note the majority of the above spend has been incurred on the THINK! road safety campaign.

High Speed 2 Line: Old Saltleians RFC

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 12 July 2022 to Question 29969, for what purpose his Department made payments of (a) £271,951.44 on 7 January 2022 and (b) £520,204.15 on 26 January 2022 to O’Brien Contractors, Ltd.

Trudy Harrison: The Department for Transport did not make payments of (a) £271,951.44 on 7 January 2022 and (b) £520,204.15 on 26 January 2022 to O'Brien Contractors Ltd. As stated in the Answer of 12 July 2022 to Question 405541, the Department for Transport does not directly engage contractors for construction work on major capital programmes, as this activity rests with the arm’s length bodies responsible for project delivery.

Aviation: Standards

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when his Department plans to publish its proposed new aviation passenger charter.

Robert Courts: The Charter was published on Sunday 17 July 2022.

Railways: Infrastructure

Florence Eshalomi: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to reduce the impact of the red weather warning for extreme heat on our rail infrastructure.

Wendy Morton: Extreme heat can cause disruption on the railway due to issues such as overhead powerlines sagging in the heat, the increased likelihood of lineside fires, and rail buckling (when rails expand and curve). The Department continues to support the rail industry as they work to ensure mitigations, such as emergency speed restrictions, are implemented to protect infrastructure and ensure both passenger and staff welfare.

Railways: Safety

Florence Eshalomi: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what emergency mechanisms are in place to ensure the safety of passengers during red weather warnings for extreme heat.

Wendy Morton: The safety of all passengers and rail staff remains our top priority. The rail industry is working to ensure mitigations are in place to ensure both passenger and staff welfare.Extensive passenger communications have been issued, with advice to carry water and to only travel if necessary on the hottest days.Many stations have prepared additional water supplies, and some major stations are equipped with free water dispensers. Wherever available, air conditioning will be in operation on trains to reduce in train temperatures.

Train Operating Companies: Drinking Water

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will ask all train operating companies to ensure a sufficient supply of free drinking water for staff and passengers onboard services operating during the hot weather warning, including for emergency use.

Wendy Morton: The safety of all passengers and rail staff remains our top priority. The rail industry is working to ensure mitigations are in place to ensure both passenger and staff welfare.Extensive passenger communications have been issued, with advice to carry water and to only travel if necessary on the hottest days

Electric Vehicles

Michelle Donelan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to (a) increase the number of electric vehicle charging points in Wiltshire and (b) help people to purchase electric vehicles.

Trudy Harrison: Government has committed £2.5 billion since 2020 to support the transition to zero emission vehicles, with funding to offset their higher upfront cost, and to accelerate the rollout of chargepoint infrastructure. Government has pledged at least £500 million to support local chargepoint provision. As part of this, the Local EV Infrastructure (LEVI) fund will provide approximately £400 million of capital and £50 million of resource funding to support local authorities to work with industry and transform the availability of charging for drivers without off-street parking. The Government is also supporting local authorities through the On-Street Residential Chargepoint Scheme (ORCS) which has £20 million available this year. To date, Wiltshire County Council have not submitted an application to the ORCS, we would encourage them to take advantage of this funding. Local authorities, such as Wiltshire County Council, will have a key role to play in the rolling out of chargepoints as they are best placed to consider local needs. In the UK’s EV Charging Infrastructure Strategy, published in March 2022, Government announced it will require all local transport authorities in England to develop their own chargepoint strategies, subject to consultation. To support drivers across the UK to switch to cleaner vehicles, Plug-in Vehicle Grants will continue until at least financial year 2023/24 for taxis and motorcycles, and 2024/25 for vans, trucks and wheelchair accessible vehicles. We have also put in place generous tax incentives including: favourable benefit in kind tax rates out to 2025, all zero emission cars are exempt from vehicle excise duty (VED), and, zero emissions vans pay a nil rate of tax on the van benefit charge.

Motor Vehicles: Exhaust Emissions

Geraint Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on the potential impact of increasing the Zero Emission Vehicle Mandate levels for 2024 to 33 per cent for cars and 15 per cent for Vans on (a) air pollution and (b) British manufacturing and related jobs.

Trudy Harrison: The technical consultation on the design of the ZEV mandate closed on 10 June. We are now analysing consultation responses, and will bring forward the Government’s response, and a full regulatory proposal, in due course.

Night Flying: Heathrow Airport

Sarah Olney: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has made an assessment of the impact of the increase in night flights from Heathrow airport since April 2022 on the London Boroughs of (a) Richmond upon Thames and (b) Kingston upon Thames.

Sarah Olney: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an estimate of the number of flights that have departed from Heathrow after 23:00 since 1 June 2022; and if he will provide a breakdown of the days that these flights took place.

Robert Courts: No assessment has been made of the impact of the increase in night flights from Heathrow Airport. The Department does not hold data on the number of flights that have departed Heathrow after 23:00.

Aviation: Compensation

Owen Thompson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of whether his Department's proposed changes to compensation rules for flight delays and cancellations will entitle consumers to higher compensation.

Owen Thompson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has taken recent steps to increase the incentives for consumers to make claims under the EU Regulation EC 261 compensation structure for domestic flight delays and cancellations.

Robert Courts: The Aviation Consumer Policy Reform Consultation sought views on a range of consumer issues, including additional enforcement powers for the CAA, mandatory alternative dispute resolution for all airlines operating to, from and within the UK, and consideration of amendments to the compensation available for delayed domestic UK flights.The delay compensation proposal sought views on whether compensation should be linked to the ticket price of a flight, and to make compensation available for shorter delays. An impact assessment was published alongside this proposal.Responses to the consultation are being analysed and we will publish a response setting out next steps in due course.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Hospitality Industry and Small Businesses: Energy

Sarah Olney: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent assessment his Department has made of the impact of (a) rising fuel costs and (b) introducing a commercial energy price cap on (i) small businesses and (ii) the hospitality industry.

Greg Hands: The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Park Homes: Energy Bills Rebate

Lloyd Russell-Moyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 21 June 2022 to Question 17919 on Energy Bills Rebate, what steps his Department will take to support park home residents; and when his Department plans to make this support available.

Greg Hands: The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Business: Fraud

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what discussions he has had with the Home Secretary on producing an estimate for the total financial cost of fraud committed against businesses in the UK in (a) financial year 2020-21, (b) calendar year 2021 and (c) financial year 2021-22.

Jane Hunt: My rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State has regular meetings with Cabinet colleagues on a variety of issues. Fraud policy is not a matter for BEIS.

Groceries Code Adjudicator

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 29 June 2022 to Question 23427, and with reference to the conclusion of the Statutory Review of the Groceries Code Adjudicator: 2016-2019 that the existence of the GCA had sent a message to large retailers that their supplier relationships needed to be conducted fairly and in accordance with the Code, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of the proposals from Traidcraft Exchange to establish a fashion watchdog.

Jane Hunt: While the adjudicator model has had some success in raising standards in the groceries sector, there are significant differences between those two industries which calls into question how effectively the model can be transferred. In the response to the single enforcement body consultation published last year, the government reaffirmed its commitment to continue to engage with the enforcement bodies and industry partners to strengthen our understanding of levels of non-compliance across the garment trade. We will continue to review this issue and consider options to drive up standards across the sector.

Parental Leave

Owen Thompson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will make a comparative assessment of the merits of different systems of (a) maternity, (b) paternity and (c) shared parental leave.

Jane Hunt: In 2019 the Government consulted on high-level options for reforming parental leave and pay. This consultation considers the objectives of parental leave and pay entitlements as a whole as well as specific entitlements. We are currently considering responses to the consultation and will respond in due course.

Arts: Copyright

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many meetings he has held with representatives of the creative industries in relation to the Government’s decision to expand the text and data mining exception.

Jane Hunt: The Government conducted a full public consultation on Artificial Intelligence and Intellectual Property 29 October 2021-7 January 2022, which included options on text and data mining. Creative industry views were well represented in the responses, but little quantitative evidence of impact was received. Creative industry representatives attended two of the six roundtable meetings which were held with different sectors as part of the consultation exercise. Other attendees included representatives of civil society, researchers and the tech sector. The former minister for Science, Research and Innovation also discussed the exception with representatives of the Alliance for Intellectual Property at a meeting on 6 July.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy: Photographs and Video Recordings

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many (a) photographers and (b) video producers were employed by his Department in (i) 2019, (ii) 2020 and (iii) 2021.

Jane Hunt: The Department has no one employed exclusively as a photographer or video producer. The content producers in the digital communications team are multi-skilled and work on many other aspects of creative production and digital delivery. In July 2019, July 2020 and July 2021, the BEIS digital communications team had 3 full time content creators. Currently the BEIS digital communications team has 2 full time content creators. There are a number of other employees who are not primarily content producers, but who sometimes support videos and photography – we do not have a record of how many members of staff this has included across the department in this time period.

Occupational Health: Weather

Florence Eshalomi: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps they are taking to protect employees when expected levels of hot weather make their commute potentially hazardous.

Jane Hunt: The Government encourages conversations between employers and employees regarding this issue. Employers may have special arrangements in place through contracts and workplace policies, or be able to offer discretionary, informal arrangements. Guidance on rights in relation to leave and pay and travel disruption is available at: https://www.gov.uk/travel-disruption-your-rights-at-work.

Audio-visual Industry: Copyright

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment his Department has made of the financial impact on the UK audio-visual sector of his decision to expand the text and data mining exception.

Jane Hunt: The Government asked specific questions about impact in the consultation on AI and IP, but received very limited quantitative evidence. An impact assessment will be published alongside the legislation when laid. The proposed exception will be targeted to limit negative impacts, and the government welcomes further evidence from rights holders on how to best achieve this.

Mathematics: Finance

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when the remaining £176 million of the Government's commitment of £300 million of additional funding for mathematical sciences will be released.

Jane Hunt: UKRI’s council level allocations were published on 30 May. The total UKRI allocation is £25.1 billion for 2022-25 and will reach its highest ever level in 2024-25 (over £8.8 billion).  This multi-year settlement provides UKRI and its constituent research councils with stability and certainty to deliver world class research and innovation across their portfolio, including in mathematical sciences.As part of the Additional Funding Programme for Mathematical Sciences, UKRI have committed £124 million out to 2028-29. UKRI will seek further opportunities to support mathematical research as it moves towards greater collective management of its funding, creating a portfolio of investments.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy: Advertising

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how much their Department has spent on advertising in (a) 2020, (b) 2021 and (c) 2022.

Jane Hunt: The Department’s advertising spend is published in BEIS Annual Reporting Accounts within ‘Advertising and publicity’ costs and can be found in table 4.1 here. Spend relating to financial year 2021-22 will be published later this year. BEIS Annual Report & Accounts are laid in Parliament once they have been certified by the Comptroller & Auditor General (C&AG). All advertising costs with details of the provider are published on gov.uk here. Further transactions will be published during 2022.

Green Homes Grant Scheme

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many (a) successful and (b) total applicants there were to the Green Homes Grant.

Greg Hands: The Green Homes Grant Voucher Scheme closed to new applicants at the end of 31 March 2021. The latest Green Homes Grant voucher release official statistics, published on gov.uk in February 2022, show at the end of 7 February 2022 the total number of household applications received was 113,736, the total number of approved household applications was 61,650, and the number of household applications with at least one measure installed was 43,303. There will be a final statistical release towards the end of 2022 when all exceptional circumstance vouchers are redeemed.

Energy: Price Caps

Sarah Olney: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what meetings he has had with representatives of Ofgem on the energy price cap since 1 April 2022.

Greg Hands: It is Ofgem’s role, as the independent regulator, to set a fair level for the price cap. The Government is in regular contact with Ofgem and industry to discuss the impact of unprecedented global gas prices and will continue to monitor the situation closely to ensure consumers are protected.

Small Businesses: Energy

Sarah Olney: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what meetings he has held with small business groups on energy prices since 1 April 2022.

Sarah Olney: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what meetings he has held with relevant stakeholders on fuel poverty since 1 April 2022.

Greg Hands: Ministers regularly meet with external stakeholders. Details of ministerial meetings with external organisations are published quarterly and can be found on GOV.UK at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/beis-ministerial-gifts-hospitality-travel-and-meetings. The latest published data covers January to March 2022, further data will be published in due course.

Natural Gas and Oil: Shetland

Mr Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what the total output in 2021 was of oil from all the oil and gas fields in East and West Shetland.

Greg Hands: The total output in 2021 of oil from fields in the West of Shetland is estimated by the North Sea Transition Authority to be around 52 million barrels. The North Sea Transition Authority does not make a specific estimate for the ‘East of Shetland’ as any such fields would be included in the ‘Northern North Sea’ area.

Natural Gas and Oil: Shetland

Mr Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what the total output was in 2021 of natural gas from all the oil and gas fields in East and West Shetland.

Greg Hands: The total output in 2021 of natural gas from fields in the West of Shetland is estimated by the North Sea Transition Authority to be around 83 billion cubic feet. The North Sea Transition Authority does not make a specific estimate for the ‘East of Shetland’ as any such fields would be included in the ‘Northern North Sea’ area.

Natural Gas and Oil: Shetland

Mr Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what the latest estimate his Department has made of the total recoverable oil reserves remaining from the oil and gas fields in East and West Shetland.

Greg Hands: The “UK Oil and Gas Reserves and Resources” report, published by the North Sea Transition Authority in 2021, estimates that, from the end 2020, there are around one billion barrels of oil reserves remaining in the West of Shetland. The report can be found at: www.nstauthority.co.uk/media/7764/rr-report_final-22-september-2021.pdf. The report does not make a specific estimate for the ‘East of Shetland’, as any such fields would be included in the ‘Northern North Sea’ area.

Natural Gas: Shetland

Mr Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what the latest estimate is of the total recoverable natural gas reserves remaining from the oil and gas fields in East and West Shetland.

Greg Hands: The “UK Oil and Gas Reserves and Resources” report, published by the North Sea Transition Authority in 2021, estimates that, at the end 2020, there are around 284 billion cubic feet of gas reserves remaining in the West of Shetland. The report can be found at: www.nstauthority.co.uk/media/7764/rr-report_final-22-september-2021.pdf. The report does not make a specific estimate for the ‘East of Shetland’, as any such fields would be included in the ‘Northern North Sea’ area.

Natural Gas: Russia

Michelle Donelan: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether his Department is taking steps to (a) prepare for reductions in the supply of Russian gas to Europe and (b) support German industries to become less reliant on Russian gas.

Greg Hands: The UK has a resilient energy market with diverse supply. The Government is committed to phasing out Russian coal and oil by the end of the year and LNG as soon as possible thereafter. The Government is working to maximise the effectiveness of European gas networks, including the UK’s LNG terminals and interconnectors, which are playing a role in reducing in European reliance on Russian gas. The Government is working closely with partners across the G7, including Germany, Italy, France and the European Commission, IEA, OPEC+ and others to stabilise energy prices and to reduce dependence on Russian fossil fuels to starve Putin’s war machine.

Minimum Wage

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if his Department will undertake an assessment of the potential benefits of implementing £15 an hour minimum wage.

Jane Hunt: We have set out an ambitious target for the minimum wage to reach 2/3 of median earnings by 2024. It is important that increases are evidence-based, sustainable and affordable for business. That is why we consider the expert and independent advice of the Low Pay Commission when increasing the rates as setting the minimum wage too high may lead to higher unemployment and harm the very people the policy is intended to help.

Attorney General

Attorney General: Aviation

Jon Trickett: To ask the Attorney General, how much their Department has spent on air travel for (a) Ministers and (b) officials in (i) 2020, (ii) 2021 and (iii) 2022.

Edward Timpson: The table below sets out the amounts the Attorney General’s Office spent on air travel per financial year.2020-210.002021-22£110.982022-23£2,407.86

Stalking: Prosecutions

Steve Reed: To ask the Attorney General, how many prosecutions were brought for stalking offences against people previously convicted of stalking in each of the last 30 years for which data is available.

Edward Timpson: The Protection from Harassment Act 1997 created the offence of harassment and latterly, as amended by the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012, stalking. The Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 came into effect on 25 November 2012 and introduced two new offences of stalking, by way of Section 2A and Section 4A, into the Protection from Harassment Act 1997.The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) does not hold any data which shows the number of defendants charged with and prosecuted for offences of stalking or the number of these who were previously convicted of similar offences. However, management information is held showing the number of offences of stalking in which a prosecution commenced from each year from 2013. The table below shows the number of these offences to the latest available year, 2021. Protection from Harassment Act 1997 { 2A(1) and (4) }Protection from Harassment Act 1997 { 4A(1)(a)(b)(i) and (5) }Protection from Harassment Act 1997 { 4A(1)(a)(b)(ii) and (5) }20134164110320147001282582015637141337201651983336201778213449020181,20829062220191,26032068020201,28140774320211,618488967Data Source: CPS Case Management Information System The figures relate to the number of offences and not the number of individual defendants. It is often the case that an individual defendant is charged with more than one offence against the same complainant. No data are held showing the final outcome or if the charged offence was the substantive charge at finalisation.

Asylum: Rwanda

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney General, whether she was consulted by (a) Ministers or (b) officials in the Home Department prior to the Secretary of State for Justice's comments in the media on 16 June 2022 on the compatibility of the UK-Rwanda Migration Partnership with the UK's membership of the European Convention on Human Rights.

Edward Timpson: By convention, whether the Law Officers have been asked to provide advice, and the contents of any such advice, is not disclosed outside Government. This convention protects the Law Officers’ ability as chief legal advisers to the Government to give full and frank legal advice and provides the fullest guarantee that government business will be conducted at all times in light of thorough and candid legal advice.

Department of Health and Social Care

Care Homes: Carers

Margaret Greenwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the proportion of care home residents who have an essential care giver; what assessment he has made of whether that proportion has increased during the covid-19 outbreak; and what estimate he has made of the proportion of adults in England who have a close relative in a care home who has been informed that care home residents are entitled to visits from an essential care giver in the event that that home is in lockdown.

Gillian Keegan: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Incontinence: Surgical Mesh Implants

Emma Hardy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the report of the Independent Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Review entitled First Do No Harm, published on 8 July 2020, how many people with stress urinary incontinence have been treated with mesh (a) slings and (b) tapes at University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust between (i) 1 July 2018 and 1 July 2019, (ii) 2 July 2019 to 1 July 2020, (iii) 2 July 2020 to 1 July 2021 and (iv) 2 July 2021 to 11 July 2022.

James Morris: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Incontinence: Surgical Mesh Implants

Emma Hardy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many colposuspension surgeries were performed by University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust between (a) 1 July 2018 and 1 July 2019, (b) 2 July 2019 and 1 July 2020, (c) 2 July 2020 and 1 July 2021 and (d) 2 July 2021 and 11 July 2022.

Maria Caulfield: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Cancer: Health Services

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what is the longest period a patient in England with suspected cancer has waited for NHS care in the most recent month for which data is available.

James Morris: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Cancer: Health Services

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many patients in England with suspected cancer have waited 90 days or more for NHS care in the most recent month for which data is available.

James Morris: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Cancer: Health Services

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many patients in England with suspected cancer have waited 52 weeks or more for NHS care in the most recent month for which data is available.

James Morris: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Social Services: Vacancies

Karin Smyth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent discussions he has had with private sector providers on tackling the vacancy rate in the adult social care workforce.

Gillian Keegan: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Health Services: Females

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what his planned timetable is for publishing the Women’s Health and Sexual and Reproductive Strategies.

Maria Caulfield: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Influenza: Vaccination

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress his Department has made on plans to deliver the seasonal flu vaccination programme.

Maggie Throup: For autumn 2022, the offer of the flu vaccine has been expanded to more eligible groups to increase protection against respiratory viruses before winter. All adults aged 50 to 64 years old and secondary school children in years 7, 8 and 9 will be offered a vaccination. This is in addition to children aged two or three years on 31 August 2022; all primary school aged children; individuals aged six months to 49 years old in clinical risk groups; pregnant women; and other at-risk groups, including those in long stay residential care homes.The National Health Service will provide further information how and when these additional cohorts will be offered the flu vaccination. However, those most at risk from flu infection such as those 65 years old and over and clinical risk groups will be prioritised.

Blood Tests: Halton

Derek Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will take steps to tackle delays in securing patient appointments for blood tests from GP referrals in Halton constituency.

Maria Caulfield: NHS England has advised that a community diagnostic centre is planned for Warrington which, if approved, will complement existing provision in St Helens. This aims to reduce waiting times for diagnostic appointments, including general practitioner referrals for blood tests in Halton constituency.

Monkeypox: Quarantine

David Mundell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make it his policy to provide financial support equivalent to previous covid-19 test and trace support payment scheme to people required to self-isolate due to Monkeypox diagnoses.

Maggie Throup: The Government and local authorities are continuing to support those who are asked to self-isolate in England as the result of a monkeypox diagnosis.On 9 June 2022, the UK Health Security Agency published guidance for those self-isolating, including on how to reduce the spread of monkeypox within their household. Individuals who are unable to work because they have monkeypox may also be eligible for financial support in England. We will continue to keep this approach under review.

Mental Health: Emergency Services

Greg Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of plans for the Gratitude Games.

Maria Caulfield: We have made no specific assessment as the Department has no direct role in the organisation of this event.

Food: Advertising

Yasmin Qureshi: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to his Department’s announcement of 14 May 2022, Government delays restrictions on multibuy deals and advertising on TV and online, what representations his Department received from representatives of the food and advertising industries regarding those policies in 2022; and if he will make a statement.

Maggie Throup: The Department has received 15 letters on this subject and there have been two Ministerial meetings with the food and drinks and advertising industries.

Gynaecology: Waiting Lists

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an estimate of the number of women who are waiting to receive gynaecological care as of 11 July 2022 and are seeking treatment for mental health conditions.

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent estimate his Department has made of the number of people (a) who have been on gynaecology waiting lists for over two years and (b) have had gynaecology surgery postponed.

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the number of women awaiting gynaecology appointments who are also seeking treatment for mental health conditions.

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate his Department has made of the number of people (a) on a waiting list for a gynaecology appointment and (b) who have had gynaecology surgery cancelled in the last two years.

Maria Caulfield: We are unable to make a specific estimate of those waiting for gynaecological care as of 11 July 2022. The most recent information on Referral to Treatment waiting provides data for May 2022. This shows that there were 511,105 patients waiting for gynaecological treatments. While data on the sex of the patient is collected, it has not yet been centrally validated. Of the 511,105 patients, 307 had waited for more than two years.Data on the number of cancelled and postponed surgeries is not currently held in the format requested, as information on treatment speciality has not been centrally validated. The data does not record the number of women waiting for gynaecology surgery who were also awaiting treatment for mental health conditions.

Mental Health Services: Mothers

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of mother and baby respite homes in helping to prevent escalation of (a) maternal and (b) perinatal mental health conditions.

Gillian Keegan: We have no current plans to make a specific assessment. However, specialist community perinatal mental health services are now operational in England. The NHS Long Term Plan committed to implementing new measures to improve safety, quality and continuity of care which will allow an additional 24,000 women to access specialist perinatal mental health care by 2023/24. This will also be available from preconception to 24 months after birth.Within specialist perinatal mental health services, 33 new maternal mental health services will provide psychological therapy, maternity services and reproductive health for women with mental health needs following trauma or loss related to their maternity experience. These will be available across England by March 2024. We are also investing £100 million in perinatal mental health and parent-infant relationship support by 2024/25, as part of the Start for Life and Family Hub programme for 75 upper tier local authorities in England.

Social Services: Costs

Karin Smyth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will publish the findings from the five local authorities currently conducting the Adult Social Care Trailblazer scheme, including the adult social care charging reform system which caps the cost of care.

Gillian Keegan: The Department will evaluate the implementation of charging reform in Trailblazer authorities. The evaluation will identify lessons learned for the Department, local authorities and providers in preparing for implementing this reform. It will also identify opportunities for improving the implementation process. We intend to publish the findings from this evaluation. The outcomes from the Trailblazer initiative will also be shared with the adult social care sector through regular bulletins and events.

Social Services: Reform

Mike Amesbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Local Government Association's survey on adult social care reform, published on 27 June 2022, what assessment his Department has made of the implications for its policies of the findings of that survey that over 98 per cent of local authorities do not have confidence that the funding for the Government’s adult social care reform agenda is sufficient; what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the £5.4 billion of funding allocated to this agenda; and whether his Department is taking steps to (i) reassure local authorities that that funding is sufficient and (ii) ensure that people who require care are paying a fair price.

Gillian Keegan: No formal assessment has been made. However, on 8 March 2022 we published an impact assessment on the costs of implementing the reforms, which is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/build-back-better-our-plan-for-health-and-social-care/adult-social-care-charging-reform-public-sector-equalities-duty-impact-assessmentThe impact assessment provides the cost modelling for the £3.6 billion announced for the charging reforms. This includes the costs to local government of implementing the charging reforms including the cap, the increased capital limit, moving towards paying a fair rate of care and the associated implementation costs. We are working with local authorities to prepare for implementation, including engaging on the estimated cost of reform. We are committing £1.36 billion to the Market Sustainability and Fair Cost of Care Fund which will support local authorities to move towards paying providers a fair cost of care.

Hip Replacements: Costs

Derek Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the average cost to the NHS has been of a hip replacement procedure in each year since 2015.

Maria Caulfield: The information is not held centrally in the format requested.However, the following table shows the average unit cost of all Healthcare Resource Groups (HRGs) which include hip procedures in each year from 2015/16 to 2020/21. The data for 2021/22 is currently being collected and centrally validated and is expected to be available by November 2022. An HRG consists of patient events which have been determined to consume a similar level of resource.Financial yearAverage unit cost2015/16£7,1132016/17£7,0712017/18£7,3532018/19£7,3052019/20£8,0092020/21£11,770

Health Services: Migrant Workers

Stephen Kinnock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Memorandum of understanding between the UK and the Philippines on healthcare cooperation, published by his Department on 11 November 2021, when he expects the next regular annual meeting of the Joint Committee established by paragraph 6 of that agreement to take place; and what specific issues his Department plans to raise at that meeting.

Maria Caulfield: There is no confirmed date for the next regular annual meeting of the Joint Committee. Initial plans were paused following the general election in the Philippines in May 2022.

NHS: Staff

Emma Hardy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the number of NHS staff who have long covid as on 13 July 2022; what steps his Department is taking to support those staff; and whether his Department plans for support to be time limited.

Maria Caulfield: No specific estimate has been made. While the Office for National Statistics has published estimates of the proportion of people self-reporting the long term effects of COVID-19 infection by sector, this does not specifically identify National Health Service staff.The NHS has recently reviewed and updated its guidelines for supporting staff affected by post-COVID-19 syndrome. It details a range of support offers and services available to support their health and wellbeing. This includes access to occupational health and wellbeing services and local employee assistance programmes, dedicated rapid assessment through one of 40 system-wide staff mental health and wellbeing hubs, access to support via online rehab services and support available from general practice and local NHS services. We continue to keep this provision under review.

Health Services: Waiting Lists

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to reduce NHS appointment waiting times ahead of winter 2022.

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make it his policy to increase funding for NHS services to help address treatment backlogs prior to winter 2022.

Maria Caulfield: We have allocated more than £8 billion from 2022/23 to 2024/25, in addition to the £2 billion Elective Recovery Fund and £700 million Targeted Investment Fund made available to systems, to increase activity in elective services and reduce waiting times. We aim to eliminate waiting times of two years or more for elective procedures by the end of July 2022. We are also seeking alternate capacity in other National Health Service trusts or the independent sector and engaging with patients to understand the treatment options available. An additional £50 million has also been made available for NHS 111 to support demand for urgent care and £150 million for the ambulance service. Further guidance on winter planning and priorities is expected in due course.

Surgery: York

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people are on an NHS elective waiting list in York.

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many patients are on a waiting list to see a hospital consultant in York.

Maria Caulfield: Patients are placed on an elective waiting list following a referral to a consultant-led treatment. As of May 2022, there were 42,179 patients waiting to start elective treatment at the York and Scarborough Teaching Hospital Foundation Trust.

Integrated Care Systems

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of greater integration between (a) medical, (b) Allied Health Professions and (c) nursing training.

Maria Caulfield: No assessment has been made. However, Health Education England is developing credentials to integrate learning across medical, nursing, allied health professionals and other professions. Multi-professional credentials are an important component of developing a responsive, flexible workforce to meet changing population, patient and service delivery needs.

NHS: Managers

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department is taking steps to reduce the number of managers in non-clinical roles in the NHS.

Maria Caulfield: Non-clinical managers and leaders play a vital role in allowing clinicians to focus on provide high quality care for patients.The Government has accepted the recommendations made by the independent ‘Health and social care review: leadership for a collaborative and inclusive future’, which recognises highlights the importance of consistent, high-quality training and development of managers in health and social care. An implementation plan will be developed with the health and care sector, including a timetable for delivery.

Primary Health Care

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department is taking steps to assess skill mix in primary care.

James Morris: As independent contractors, general practitioners consider the appropriate range of skills necessary to address the needs of their patients. The Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme (ARRS) provides funding for 26,000 additional roles to create bespoke multi-disciplinary teams in primary care. NHS England reimburse Primary Care Networks with 100% of salary costs for these additional roles, such as clinical pharmacists, physician associates and first-contact physiotherapists. NHS England has committed to review the Scheme in 2023 to consider the scope of the roles available.

Surgery: Waiting Lists

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what mechanisms his Department is using to assess its progress in tackling waiting times for elective care in the NHS which were impacted by the outbreak covid-19.

Maria Caulfield: The Department receives regular updates from NHS England to assess progress against the ‘Delivery plan for tackling the COVID-19 backlog of elective care’. We are continuing to work with NHS England to deliver the measures in the plan and provide the necessary support.

Surgery: Wiltshire

Michelle Donelan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the average waiting time for an operation in Wiltshire; and what steps he is taking to tackle healthcare backlogs caused by the covid-19 outbreak.

Maria Caulfield: No specific estimate has been made as average waiting times for operations is not collected at county level. The Department and NHS England meet regularly with National Health Service trusts to discuss waiting lists for planned treatment. This includes assessing current progress on addressing waiting times and sharing advice to deliver on the targets in the ‘Delivery plan for tackling the COVID-19 backlog of elective care’.

Department of Health and Social Care: Advertising

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much their Department has spent on advertising in (a) 2020, (b) 2021 and (c) 2022.

Maria Caulfield: The Department’s expenditure on advertising is collected by financial year. In 2020/21, this spending was £7,079,778 and £28,597,578 in 2021/22.

Nurses: Recruitment

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many nurses have been recruited by the NHS since December 2019.

Maria Caulfield: The information is not collected in the format requested. NHS Digital publishes Hospital and Community Health Services workforce statistics. These include staff working in hospital trusts and clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) but not staff working in primary care, local authorities or other providers.From 31 December 2019 to 31 March 2022, a headcount of 75,638 nurses and health visitors joined National Health Service trusts and CCGs in England. This includes those returning to active service, such as returning from maternity leave or career break.

Heart Diseases: Health Services

Rebecca Long Bailey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that heart failure services are adequately prioritised within emerging models of care across the NHS, including in (a) integrated care systems and (b) primary care networks.

James Morris: NHS England is resourcing cardiovascular leadership roles in integrated care systems (ICSs) to ensure that improvements to the quality of life experienced by heart failure patients are prioritised. ICSs will collaborate with local National Health Service organisations to improve population health and establish shared strategic priorities.Through Primary Care Networks, those with heart failure will be supported by multi-disciplinary teams and greater access to echocardiography in primary care will be provided to improve the investigation of those with breathlessness and the early detection of heart failure and heart valve disease.

Cancer: Drugs

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the average time is for treatment approval through the Project Orbis programme.

Maria Caulfield: The average time for approval of applications through the Project Orbis programme is 156 days for new drug applications. The standard statutory timeline provided in the legislation is 210 days.

General Practitioners: Complementary Medicine

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure that GPs are provided time to assess the holistic needs of their patients.

James Morris: The duration of general practitioner appointments will vary depending on a patient’s needs and there is no specified length of time. However, we are diversifying the general practice workforce to increase capacity.

Heart Diseases: Health Services

Rebecca Long Bailey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps are being taken to improve heart failure outcomes within (a) Greater Manchester Health and Social Care Partnership and (b) England.

James Morris: In Greater Manchester, the Smart Hearts project was launched in 2019, which uses an algorithm to monitor the data transmitted from implantable cardiac devices to monitor any early signs of deterioration. A business case has been developed to increase the specialist heart failure workforce in Greater Manchester to meet projected demand.In England, the National Health Service is investing in cardiac networks to support improvements to the care pathway for patients with severe aortic stenosis. These networks have been developed to take an evidenced based, clinically led, whole pathway approach to improvement from prevention, diagnosis, treatment and end of life care.We have committed £2.3 billion to launch at least 100 community diagnostic centres by 2024/25 to improve the early detection and diagnosis of heart valve disease in England and reduce patient waiting times.

Monkeypox: Disease Control

Stella Creasy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of existing measures for preventing the monkeypox virus becoming endemic.

Maggie Throup: The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) is working with the National Health Service and the public health agencies in each nation to prevent the onward transmission of the monkeypox virus. The public health response is kept under review to prevent the virus from becoming endemic.Monkeypox is not a novel virus and the West African subtype which is currently present in the United Kingdom is less transmissible and largely contained within a single sub-population. We have sufficient testing capacity to meet demand and we are deploying vaccines and therapeutics which offer estimated high levels of protection against and treatment for monkeypox.

Healthy Start Scheme

Rebecca Long Bailey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will publish the data on how many people have signed up for Healthy Start vouchers since the rollout of the online only sign up process.

Rebecca Long Bailey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Healthy Start voucher online only sign up process, how many applicants are (a) re-enrolments and (b) new starters on that scheme.

Rebecca Long Bailey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent estimate he has made of the number of people who were previously enrolled on the Healthy Start scheme and need to re-enrol but have not yet re-enrolled via the new online sign up system.

Maggie Throup: As of 14 July 2022, 384,848 successful applications have been made using the NHS Healthy Start online application. Of this total, 250,457 successful applications have been made from those who were previously in receipt of paper vouchers; and 134,391 successful applications have been made from those not previously in receipt of paper vouchers. As of 14 July 2022, it is estimated that approximately 46,000 households previously on the paper voucher scheme have not applied online. It is not known what proportion of these households remain eligible for NHS Healthy Start.

Dialysis Machines

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 26 May 2022 to Question 2656 on dialysis at home, when he expects that patients receiving haemodialysis treatment at home will receive clear communications so that they are aware of their right to reimbursement from their NHS provider.

James Morris: On 20 June 2022, NHS England issued a specialised commissioning circular directly to all commissioned providers of home haemodialysis and renal clinical networks to ensure that eligible patients are alerted to the available reimbursement arrangements. NHS England is seeking assurance through regional commissioners and renal networks that patients are being made aware and processes are in place to facilitate it. Networks will provide assurance on a quarterly basis to NHS England, with an initial review due in the autumn.

Orthopaedics: Health Services

Mr Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will publish examples from within the NHS of (a) innovative care and (b) best practice for patients receiving treatment on NHS England’s Trauma and Orthopaedic Service; and if he will make a statement.

Maria Caulfield: NHS England’s Getting It Right First Time (GIRFT) programme and the Best MSK Health Collaborative have published examples of innovation and best practice in the treatment of orthopaedics, which are available through the Best Practice Library at the following link:https://www.gettingitrightfirsttime.co.uk/bpl/GIRFT is designed to improve the treatment and care of patients through an in-depth review of services and benchmarking and presenting an evidence base to support change. The Best MSK Health Collaborative aims to sustain the delivery of personalised, high-quality integrated healthcare in services such as orthopaedics and rheumatology in primary, secondary and community services. The Collaborative works with those with lived experience, patient groups and professional organisations to support integrated care systems to deliver innovative care and best practice. The Best MSK Health Collaborative works with GIRFT across trauma and orthopaedics treatment and surgery.

Medicine: Research

Neale Hanvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent discussions the Government has had with (a) representatives of the National Health Systems of the UK and (b) devolved Administrations on developing the Future of UK Clinical Research Delivery 2022 to 2025 implementation plan; and what future discussions he plans to take place to (i) monitor and (ii) evaluate progress made in delivering the agreed actions within the implementation plan.

James Morris: ‘The Future of UK Clinical Research Delivery: 2022 to 2025 implementation plan’ has been developed by the United Kingdom Government and the devolved administrations in collaboration with the clinical research community and delivery partners through the UK Clinical Research Recovery Resilience and Growth (RRG) programme.The RRG Oversight Group meets regularly to provide oversight and strategic co-ordination of clinical research delivery in the UK. Members include the UK health departments, Digital Health and Care Wales, National Research Scotland, Health and Social Care Northern Ireland. The implementation plan was published on 30 June 2022 and progress will be monitored and evaluated by the RRG Programme Board and Oversight Group.

Medicine: Research

Neale Hanvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has had discussions with (a) representatives of the National Health Systems of the UK and (b) the devolved Administrations on the development of a UK-wide professional accreditation scheme for clinical research practitioners to help increase the size of the clinical research workforce.

James Morris: United Kingdom-wide accredited registration of clinical research practitioners (CRPs) was approved by the UK Professional Standards Authority in April 2020 as part of the Academy for Healthcare Science (AHCS) Accredited Register for practitioners. The AHCS is a joint initiative of the UK health departments and professional bodies in healthcare science. The Standards of Proficiency for registration were developed following consultation with CRPs, the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) and senior leaders in nursing and management of clinical research operations. This is overseen by a board which includes representation from the devolved administrations to inform the strategic development of the profession. The NIHR and Academy of Medical Royal Colleges also offer UK-wide clinician researcher development qualifications.

General Practitioners: Islington

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many GP services in the Borough of Islington are administered by private sector companies as of 12 July 2022; and if he will publish the names of those (a) practices and (b) private sector companies.

James Morris: All general practitioner (GP) practices are administered by GPs or other organisations and work under contract to the National Health Service. All contract holders and providers of NHS core primary medical services are subject to the same requirements, regulation and standards. In Islington, there are 25 practices administered by GP partnerships, three by individual GPs and three by companies. Barnsbury Medical Practice is administered by Islington GP Group (Islington Federation); and Mitchison Road Surgery and Hanley Primary Care Centre by AT Medics. The number of GP practices in Greater London run by private sector companies in each year since 2019 is not held centrally.

Health Services: Migrant Workers

Stephen Kinnock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Memorandum of understanding between the UK and the Philippines on healthcare cooperation, published by his Department on 11 November 2021, whether any (a) special meetings or (b) consultations have been convened to discuss urgent issues arising from that agreement, as provided for in paragraph 6 of the memorandum.

Maria Caulfield: There have been no specific meetings or consultations.

NHS: Costs

Karin Smyth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the cost to the NHS of delays in transfer to care settings in 2022.

Gillian Keegan: No specific estimate has been made, as this information is not held in the format requested.

Care Homes: General Practitioners

Karin Smyth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent estimate he has made of the average time taken for care home residents to see a GP.

James Morris: No specific estimate has been made as this information is not held centrally. However, the service specification for the Enhanced Health in Care Homes Directed Enhanced Service states that Primary Care Networks must establish and coordinate a multi-disciplinary team to deliver a weekly ‘home round’ of its care home patients, where patients identified as a clinical priority for assessment and care are reviewed. The checks should include appropriate and consistent medical oversight from a general practitioner and/or a geriatrician.

Social Services: Standards

Karin Smyth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent estimate he has made of the number of adults who have unmet care needs.

Gillian Keegan: No specific assessment has been made. Local authorities are responsible for assessing individuals' eligibility for care and support through the Care Act 2014 and where the individual is eligible for financial support, for meeting those needs.  Where individuals are not eligible for financial support, local authorities may assist them to make arrangements for care. The Health and Care Act 2022 includes a duty for the Care Quality Commission to review and assess local authorities’ delivery of adult social care duties.

Wales Office

Business: Wales

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, whether he has had recent discussions with the (a) Welsh Government and (b) the Secretary of State for International Trade on financial support for Welsh businesses attending Hannover Messe 2022.

Sir Robert Buckland: I have not had any discussions with the Welsh Government or the Secretary of State for International Trade regarding supporting Welsh businesses at Hannover Messe. The UK Government does however offer trade show support specifically targeted to help small and mid-size enterprises (SMEs), including those in Wales, through the UK Trade Show Program. The Trade Show Programme offers SMEs the opportunity to exhibit at the world’s largest trading shows, through training and finance. This is part of the UK’s ‘Made in the UK, Sold to the World' campaign to champion the best of the UK.

Department for Education

Schools: Standards

Mr Toby Perkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will make an estimate of the number of schools who received a lower overall OFSTED grading as a result of their work experience or careers guidance in each local authority area in 2021-2022.

Mr Toby Perkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many schools received an outstanding OFSTED assessment in each local authority area in 2021-22; and what proportion of those schools were assessed to have had an outstanding work experience offer in 2021-22.

Will Quince: These are matters for Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector, Amanda Spielman. I have asked her to write to you directly and a copy of her reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

Speech and Language Therapy: Coronavirus

Geraint Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the finding of the report, Implications of COVID for Early Childhood Education and Care in England, published in June 2022, that speech and language delays were reported across all age groups as children had fewer opportunities to develop their communication skills at home.

Will Quince: Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only. The government recognises the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on early childhood education and speech and language development. The department is investing up to £180 million of recovery support in the early years sector to build a stronger, more expert workforce. This will enable settings to deliver high-quality teaching and help address the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the youngest children, particularly those in the most disadvantaged areas. This includes up to £17 million on the Nuffield Early Language Intervention (NELI), improving the language skills of reception-age children who need it most. Two-thirds of primary schools have signed up for the programme. The department estimates that the programme will reach around 90,000 children affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. This also includes funding to train early years practitioners to support parents with the home learning environment, as part of the family hubs programme. Priority will be given to the families who will benefit most. Improving the home learning environment offers the opportunity to improve children’s cognitive skills and future attainment. The department wants to encourage parents to chat, play and read more with their children, in and around the home. The department has provided £10.7 million in grant funding to existing early years voluntary and community sector partners to support disadvantaged children’s early literacy and language development, including support for early years special educational needs and disabilities. In addition, the department reformed the early years foundation stage statutory framework. These reforms will serve as an important platform to support COVID-19 recovery, particularly supporting children from disadvantaged backgrounds who will have been disproportionately impacted.

Health: Children

Dame Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will take steps to help ensure that the potential impact of the cost of living crisis on school meals does not affect the health of children.

Will Quince: The provision of healthy school meals, free to those children who are eligible for them, is of the utmost importance to the government. The department is holding regular meetings with other government departments and food industry representatives, covering a variety of issues, including public sector food supplies. All contracts for school food are held at school, multi-academy trust, or local authority level. Schools are responsible for the provision of both free and paid-for meals, and how much to spend on school food provision. Under the benefits-related criteria, the department provides a free healthy meal to around 1.9 million children, ensuring they are well-nourished and can concentrate and learn. The department also spends around £600 million per year ensuring around 1.25 million infants enjoy a free, healthy, and nutritious meal at lunchtime, following the introduction of the Universal Infant Free School Meal policy in 2014. The government understands the pressures people are facing with the cost of living. These are global challenges, and this is why the government is providing over £15 billion in further support, targeted particularly at those with the greatest need. This package is in addition to the over £22 billion announced previously, with government support for the cost of living now totalling over £37 billion this year. This includes an additional £500 million to help households with the cost of household essentials, on top of what the department has provided since October 2021. This brings total funding for this support to £1.5 billion. In England, this will take the form of an extension to the Household Support Fund backed by £421 million, running from 1 October 2022 to 31 March 2023. Devolved administrations will receive £79 million through the Barnett formula.

Holiday Activities and Food Programme

Peter Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to increase the take-up of the Holiday and Food Activities programme to ensure the maximum number of children benefit.

Brendan Clarke-Smith: The government is investing over £200 million a year in our Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) programme over the next three years, distributed through all local authorities in England.The programme is targeted primarily towards children who receive benefits-related free school meals (FSM). Local authorities also have discretion to provide free or subsidised holiday club places for children who are not in receipt of FSM, but who the local authority believe could benefit from HAF provision.Local authorities are encouraged to work with a wide range of organisations and partners across their local area and ensure schools and other services are on board with directing children and families to the programme. To support local authorities, the government has appointed a national support partner, Childcare Works, who help local authorities to use their funding as effectively as possible and to target their programme at those most in need. The government has also provided local authorities with a communication toolkit to support local promotion of the programme.

University of Bolton: Expenditure

Yasmin Qureshi: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much public funding the University of Bolton has received in each year between 2010 and 2022.

Andrea Jenkyns: The Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) collects and publishes data on the finances of higher education providers in the UK.Income data by the source is available for each UK higher education provider in Table 7 of HESA’s Higher Education Provider Data: Finance pages for the academic years 2015/16 to 2019/20 are available at: https://www.hesa.ac.uk/data-and-analysis/finances/table-7.

Schools: Buildings

Munira Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many of the schools in each (a) local authority area and (b) parliamentary constituency that were surveyed during the 2017-19 Condition Data Collection Programme had at least one (i) building element, (ii) construction type graded (A) C (poor) and (B) D (bad).

Will Quince: The number of schools assessed as having at least one building element graded C (poor) and D (bad) in the Condition Data Collection (CDC) by i) building element and ii) construction type is set out in the attached tables.The CDC1 data was collected between 2017 and 2019. The department expects responsible bodies to plan works overtime, prioritising investment on the poorest condition and most urgent aspects of their buildings. We expect to publish more detailed data from the CDC programme later this year and will set out further details in due course.37614_tables (xlsx, 704.1KB)

Physics: Females

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether he has had recent discussions with the Social Mobility Commission on improving uptake of physics by girls at (a) A-level and (b) university.

Will Quince: The department is not aware of any recent discussions with the Social Mobility Commission.Ensuring that anyone, regardless of their background or where they live, can pursue an education in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) subjects is a priority for the department. We are encouraging more children and young people into STEM from primary school to higher education.The department funds the Stimulating Physics Network and the Inclusion in Schools programmes, both of which are focused on increasing the numbers of pupils from underrepresented groups taking A level physics, including girls. Additionally, we are funding research programmes to investigate ways to tackle gender balance in STEM subjects, including the Improving Gender Balance national research trial for physics, which is in its evaluation phase.In higher education, there have been significant gains in the number of women in STEM. Between 2010 and 2021, the number of women accepted onto full-time STEM undergraduate courses increased by 49.0% in the UK (all domiciles). Within the same period, the proportion of female full-time undergraduate entrants studying STEM courses has increased from 34.2% in 2010 to 42.2% in 2021. In the same period, the number of 18-year-old females accepted onto full time undergraduate physics courses increased by 71% in the UK.

Pupils: Work Experience

Mr Toby Perkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will make it his policy to require the provision of work experience as part of the school curriculum.

Andrea Jenkyns: The department repealed the statutory duty on schools to provide work-related learning at key stage 4 following the publication of the Wolf Review on Vocational Education in 2011. The review recommended that government should focus on work-related provision for 16 to 19-year-olds, as the statutory requirement was not having a positive impact on young people. The department has reformed the post-16 curriculum and funding system to incentivise education and training providers to offer high-quality work experience to young people as part of 16-to-19 study programmes. New personalised study programmes should include work experience or work-related training that is relevant to the career aspirations of students. In addition, the department wants pupils to have a range of experiences of the workplace and encounters with employers throughout their secondary education, as part of a high-quality careers programme. Schools are legally required to secure independent careers guidance for pupils in years 8 to 13 and, this September, the department will commence new legislation to extend this duty to all secondary-aged pupils in all types of state-funded school. Schools must have regard to underpinning careers statutory guidance which makes it clear that schools should follow the Gatsby Benchmarks of Good Career Guidance to develop and improve their careers programmes. Through the fifth and sixth benchmarks, schools and colleges are expected to provide pupils with a minimum of nine high-quality engagements with employers during their secondary school education. This includes seven high-quality encounters with employers (one per year from age 11) and two workplace experiences such as work visits, shadowing, and work experience (one by age 16 and one by age 18). The department is funding the Careers & Enterprise Company to increase opportunities for young people to engage with employers. Over 300 ‘Cornerstone’ employers, such as Rolls Royce and BAE Systems, are working with Careers Hubs to bring together business effort and engagement with local schools and colleges. 3,750 enterprise advisers, employer volunteers representing businesses of all shapes and sizes, are also working with schools and colleges to develop their employer engagement plans.

Department for Education: Advertising

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much their Department has spent on advertising in (a) 2020, (b) 2021 and (c) 2022.

Will Quince: The Department for Education uses advertising and publicity to help deliver manifesto commitments and policy objectives. It has spent the following amounts on advertising over the last three financial years. 2019/20: £33.3 million2020/21: £20.5 million2021/22: £25.7 million This includes spending on a range of different types of marketing activity, including advertising.

Erasmus+ Programme and Turing Scheme

Matt Western: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the median grants awarded through the (a) Turing and (b) Erasmus+ schemes were in the latest period for which that data are available.

Matt Western: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the median grant size awarded to the students set to participate in the Turing Scheme in 2022 is.

Andrea Jenkyns: The first year of the Turing Scheme has provided funding for placements in the 2021/22 academic year. As placements are ongoing, it is not possible to provide summary statistics on grants awarded at this time. Statistics on the Turing Scheme will be available in the Autumn, after the end of the first year of the programme. Currently published information on the 2021/22 funding provided by the Turing Scheme is available at: https://www.turing-scheme.org.uk/funding-opportunities/funding-results/.Data relating to median grant rates for Erasmus+ is not published by the National Agency. The European Commission publishes data on overall grants by activity for each National Agency, but this cannot be disaggregated into individual learners grants. This summary data can be found in the statistical annexes of their Statistics page which is available here: https://erasmus-plus.ec.europa.eu/resources-and-tools/statistics-and-factsheets.

Office for Students

Matt Western: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether he plans to provide additional resources to support the Office for Students (OfS) in mitigating the risks identified in the OfS Annual Report and Accounts 2021-22.

Andrea Jenkyns: The department, together with the Office for Students (OfS), regularly reviews its resourcing and funding position, discussing new work and changing priorities.It should also be noted that we, as sponsor department of the OfS, take the roles and duties set out in Cabinet Office Code of Practice on Sponsorship very seriously, including in relation to oversight of OfS resourcing, risk and performance.

STEM Subjects: Teachers

Matt Vickers: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to attract (a) science, (b) technology, (c) engineering and (d) mathematics teachers in disadvantaged areas.

Will Quince: From autumn 2022, the Levelling Up Premium will provide early career teachers in maths, physics, chemistry, and computing with bonuses of up to £3,000 tax-free annually, in the first five years of their career, if they teach in eligible disadvantaged schools. The full eligibility criteria for the Levelling Up Premium, including eligible schools, is available here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/levelling-up-premium-payments-for-teachers#eligibility-criteria-for-teachers.The department is also offering bursaries, worth £24,000 tax-free, and scholarships, worth £26,000 tax-free, to encourage talented trainee teachers into key subjects such as maths, physics, chemistry, and computing.These measures are supporting the recruitment and retention of specialist teachers in the schools and areas that need them most.

Schools: Lancashire

Sir Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what data his Department holds on the number of incidents of violence, verbal threats and aggression towards (a) headteachers, (b) teachers, and (c) teaching staff at primary schools have been reported in Preston and Lancashire over the last three years; and what steps have been taken to tackle the levels of violent incidents and abuse experienced by educators.

Will Quince: The department does not hold information on the number of incidents of violence, verbal threats and aggression towards headteachers, teachers and teaching staff in primary schools. Data is collected on the number of exclusions and suspensions where the reason given is ‘Physical assault against an adult’ or ‘Verbal abuse or threatening behaviour against an adult’. Data for Lancashire, for the three most recent years for which this data is available, can be found at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/21bc45ac-5922-46f9-9ed1-33bd9c534a28Schools have a duty and a responsibility to protect pupils and staff from violent incidents and abuse. The government supports schools with a range of guidance to help them fulfil their responsibilities, including advice on health and safety, school security and targeted advice on gangs and youth violence. In addition, the department is clear that teachers should not be subjected to any form of abuse simply for doing their jobs, and that any form of violence in school is completely unacceptable and should not be tolerated. While the department expects schools to take immediate and robust action if incidents of violence occur, any decision on how to issue sanctions that address misbehaviour is a matter for the school to decide. Should the incident constitute a criminal offence, the school should report it to the police.We will shortly be publishing the updated Behaviour in Schools guidance. This will advise schools on how they can build a positive behaviour culture through a whole-school approach, to help schools create calm, safe and supportive environments.We are also publishing the updated Searching, Screening and Confiscation guidance to provide a clear process for staff to follow through various stages of searching and screening, while still enabling pupils to express any concerns that may arise.

Department for Education: EU Law

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate he has made of (a) the number of officials in his Department involved in recording retained EU legislation for the purposes of the Retained EU Law Dashboard in the latest period for which figures are available and (b) the cost to the public purse of recording that information.

Will Quince: The department’s staff resource for the dashboard was less than one full time equivalent alongside their normal duties this financial year. There has been no additional non-pay cost to the public purse by creating the dashboard. The process was led by the Cabinet Office, who commissioned government departments to find retained EU law (REUL) within their legislation and compile an authoritative account of where REUL sits on the UK statute book. The dashboard itself is made by the Government Strategic Management Office and is hosted on Tableau Public, which is a free platform for hosting public dashboards. The dashboard will continue to be updated at no additional cost.

Home Education

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of provisions in the Schools Bill on home education.

Will Quince: The department has completed all relevant and required impact assessment for the Schools Bill. The children not in school measures, which are those most likely to impact home educating families, have been subject to a thorough Equalities Impact Assessment. This considers the impact on families with different protected characteristics. The measures have also been subject to a regulatory impact assessment, which looks at the impact measures will have on businesses and charities. A summary of these impact assessments has been published online as part of the Schools Bill impact assessment document. It is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/schools-bill-impact-assessment.

Health Education: Schools

Ian Lavery: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether his Department plans to support mental health and wellbeing education in secondary and primary schools on (a) self-harm, (b) suicide, (c) addiction and (d) eating disorders.

Brendan Clarke-Smith: Relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) is now a compulsory part of the curriculum. The statutory guidance can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/relationships-education-relationships-and-sex-education-rse-and-health-education.The RSHE curriculum has a strong focus on mental wellbeing. The aim is to give pupils the information they need to make good decisions about their health and wellbeing, and to recognise the early signs of mental wellbeing concerns, including common types of mental ill health.Pupils are taught where and how to seek support and whom in school they should speak to if they are worried about their own or someone else’s mental wellbeing.These subjects have been designed to support the development of pupils’ self-control and their ability to self-regulate. Body image and mental wellbeing are explicitly covered in the RSHE curriculum. At secondary level, teachers may choose to discuss issues such as self-harm, addiction and suicide when teaching these topics.To support schools to deliver this content effectively, the department has produced teacher training modules which are free to download. The mental wellbeing module contains key information to help inform teachers what they must teach. The module can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/teaching-about-mental-wellbeing.

Schools: Vocational Guidance

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of schools are compliant with the Baker Clause in allowing colleges and training providers access to every student in Years 8 to 13 to inform them about approved technical education, qualifications and apprenticeships.

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans his Department has to support schools to develop links with colleges and training providers to help them meet their obligations under the Baker Clause.

Andrea Jenkyns: All maintained schools and academies have a legal duty to publish a policy statement setting out opportunities for providers of technical education and apprenticeships to visit schools to talk to all year 8 to 13 pupils, and to make sure the statement is followed. This provider access duty, also known as the Baker Clause, commenced in January 2018. In 2019, 38% of pupils in year 8 reported that their school had provided them with the opportunity to learn about vocational or technical options from further education colleges. For apprenticeship providers the figure was 32%, for University Technical Colleges 25% and for Studio Schools, it was 5%. The department has taken steps to strengthen the provider access legislation through the Skills and Post-16 Education Act 2022. We intend to commence the legislation from January 2023. All pupils will have the opportunity for six encounters with providers of approved technical education qualifications and apprenticeships, as they progress through school years 8 to 13. For the first time, we are introducing parameters around the duration and content of these encounters, so that we can ensure they are of high quality. We are currently consulting on the underpinning statutory guidance that schools must have to adhere to when carrying out this legal duty. The statutory guidance will set out the support that is available to schools to help them fulfil their legal obligations. Careers Hubs will also play an important role in working with schools and providers to develop links locally to ensure the effective delivery of provider encounters for young people. Careers Hubs will monitor progress and intervene early, where there is a need for additional support. Through the consultation, we are gathering examples of good practice and will use these to inform the final statutory guidance document.

Department for Education: Consultants

Sarah Olney: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much his Department has spent on consultancy fees in each of the last five years.

Will Quince: I refer the hon. Member for Richmond Park to the answer the former Minister for Higher and Further Education gave on 1 July 2022 to Question 22552.

Universities: Gifts and Endowments

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what his policy is on universities accepting donations from overseas (a) organisations and (b) individuals.

Andrea Jenkyns: Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.Universities are autonomous and will have their own fundraising and gift acceptance policies in place. University due diligence processes should consider reputational, ethical and security risks.The security guidelines commissioned by the government and published by Universities UK in October 2020, ‘Managing risks in internationalisation: security-related issues’, advises universities on engaging in secure international collaborations. This includes a recommendation that due diligence be conducted on all international partnerships.The Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Bill will address concerns about the possible influence of overseas money in English higher education (HE), without reducing the ability of our world class universities to work with global partners. New measures set out in the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Bill will require HE providers in England to report to the Office for Students (OfS) any relevant overseas funding received by the HE provider, a constituent institution, or a member or member of staff of the provider or constituent institution (in their capacity as such).These measures will help the OfS understand the possible impact of overseas income on freedom of speech and academic freedom, and monitor any trends and patterns of concern.

Schools: Air Pollution

Navendu Mishra: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to help support local authorities mitigate the impact of air pollution at schools where recorded levels are higher than WHO guideline limits.

Will Quince: The department has published guidance in the Building Bulletin 101 (BB101), which provides guidelines on indoor and outdoor air quality in new and refurbished schools: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/building-bulletin-101-ventilation-for-school-buildings. BB101 guidance promotes best practice in controlling pollutants and setting maximum standards for levels of pollutants in indoors. Outdoor air quality is the responsibility of local authorities who should prepare air quality action plans to ensure the level of pollutants is reduced. In January 2019, the government published the Clean Air Strategy setting out plans to deal with all sources of pollution.

Numeracy

Matt Vickers: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to increase levels of adult numeracy.

Andrea Jenkyns: The department has launched Multiply, a new programme for improving adult numeracy, funded through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. Up to £559 million is available over the Spending Review period for Multiply, including up to £430 million across all four nations for local areas to deliver bespoke adult numeracy interventions.All adults without a GCSE grade C/4 (or equivalent) in mathematics will be able to access free flexible courses that fit around their lives, including in person training, personal tutoring, and digital content.Adults who don’t already have a GCSE pass Grade 4/C (or equivalent) or above in mathematics are already entitled to funding for mathematics qualifications up to level 2. Multiply does not remove this entitlement, nor does it reduce funding for the Adult Education Budget.Multiply will boost funding for maths, enabling delivery of innovative approaches to improving numeracy in adults, helping more people take the next step to higher levels of training or unlock new job opportunities.

Further Education: Buildings

Matt Vickers: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to upgrade the further education estate.

Andrea Jenkyns: The Further Education (FE) Capital Transformation Programme is delivering the government’s £1.5 billion manifesto commitment to upgrade FE college estates in England.We are delivering a programme of funding to address condition need across the FE sector, allocating £200 million in August 2020 to all FE colleges and designated institutions, to enable providers to undertake immediate remedial work and upgrade the condition of their estates.We announced the next phase of the FE Capital Transformation Programme in April 2021, with our plans to work in partnership with 16 colleges to upgrade and revitalise some of the worst condition sites in England, with some construction work now beginning.In April 2022, we announced that up to £405 million of funding is being provided to a further 62 colleges who were successful in bidding for funding through the FE Capital Transformation Fund. The programme will fund two condition improvement projects that will support colleges involved with the Education and Skills Funding Agency Specialist Restructuring Team.We will aim to provide an update on plans for how we will deliver the remainder of the £1.5 billion of funding later this year.

Vocational Education: Qualifications

Matt Vickers: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to increase the quality of technical qualifications.

Andrea Jenkyns: We are reforming technical education to ensure that all post-16 students have access to technical options that support progression and meet employer needs. This includes the introduction of T Levels, designed with employers, reviewing all other technical qualifications at level 3 and below and introducing new Higher Technical qualifications.We are putting employers at the heart of the skills system and boosting the quality of qualifications on offer, basing them on employer-led occupational standards, so that all students leave education with the skills most needed by industry.

Universities: Freedom of Expression

Matt Vickers: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to protect freedom of speech in universities.

Andrea Jenkyns: This government believes that freedom of speech and academic freedom are fundamental pillars of our higher education system and that protecting these principles should be a priority for universities.That is why the Higher Education Freedom of Speech Bill has been introduced. The bill will strengthen existing freedom of speech duties and directly address gaps within the existing law, ensuring, for example, that higher education providers found to be in breach of their duties can be clearly and robustly held to account. The bill also applies the duties directly to students’ unions and constituent colleges, including those at the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge. The bill introduces a role for the Office for Students board, with responsibility for overseeing its strengthened duties to promote freedom of speech and investigate where potential breaches of the duties occur.The changes will introduce clear consequences for breaches of the new duties and ensure that these principles are upheld.The bill is currently passing through the House of Lords.

Life Sciences: North East

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether his Department provides additional support to universities in the North East on creating skilled graduates for the life science sector in that region.

Andrea Jenkyns: I refer the hon. Member for Stockton North to the answer I gave on 19 July 2022 to Question 32529.

Educational Institutions: Energy

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, on how many occasions since 1 January 2022 he or his predecessor received requests from the Chancellor of the Exchequer to discuss the impact of increases in gas and electricity prices on (a) state funded nurseries, primary schools and secondary schools, (b) nurseries and playgroups run by registered childcare providers and (c) registered children's homes.

Brendan Clarke-Smith: Ministers and officials have regular discussions with Her Majesty’s Treasury on all matters relating to funding for education and children’s social care. This includes discussions on the cost pressures that the department knows schools, nurseries, playgroups, and children’s homes are facing as a result of increased energy prices.

Ministry of Justice

European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment: Disclosure of Information

John Howell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the report entitled Report to the United Kingdom Government on the periodic visit to the United Kingdom carried out by the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) from 8 to 21 June 2021, published on 7 July 2022, and the Government's response to that report, published on 7 July 2022, if he will make it his policy to adopt the automatic publication procedure in respect of all future (a) reports by the CPT on the UK and (b) Government responses.

Miss Sarah Dines: The UK welcomes the visits and reports of the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT). The UK Government promotes a general policy of transparency by having a default position of authorising the publication of the visit reports and the UK responses, and encouraging other Member States to do likewise. The UK Permanent Representative to the Council of Europe has in the past intervened in the Committee of Ministers, calling on Member States to agree to the publication of all CPT reports. Although there are no immediate plans to adopt the automatic publication procedure, we shall continue to take the approach of authorising the publication of the CPT visit reports and the government responses.

Stalking: Reoffenders

Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people were convicted of stalking offences after having been previously convicted for stalking in each of the last 30 years for which data is available.

Miss Sarah Dines: Data showing how many people were convicted of stalking offences after having been previously convicted for stalking in each of the last 30 years for which data is available can be viewed in the table below.Offenders convicted1 of a stalking offence2 who had a previous3 conviction for a stalking offence, England and Wales4, 2010 to 2021Year5Count20101201122012220138201413201524201620201726201844201946202080202181Source: Ministry of Justice extract of the Police National Computer (PNC)1) Found guilty at court. Offenders given a caution have been excluded.2) Stalking offences include racially or religiously motivated stalking without violence, racially or religiously motivated stalking with fear of violence; both under the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 and stalking involving fear of violence, stalking involving serious alarm/distress, stalking without fear / alarm / distress; all three under the Protection from Harassment Act 1997.3) Previous offences are counted as at the offender’s latest offence in each year.4) England and Wales include all 43 police force areas in England and Wales plus the British Transport Police.5) Each offender is only counted once in each year but may be included in the table multiple times if they were convicted in multiple years during the period.6) The PNC is a large-scale administrative database that evolves over time. Despite carrying out validation on entry, prior to submission and within the statistical processes following extraction the data are subject to some inaccuracies inherent in any similar large-scale data recording system (e.g. mistyped data entries).

Ministry of Justice: Advertising

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much their Department has spent on advertising in (a) 2020, (b) 2021 and (c) 2022.

Miss Sarah Dines: The cost breakdown of publicity and advertising spend for MoJ is set out in the table below.  2019/202020/212021/22Publicity & Advertising£452,612£611,205£ 1,019,663 The drive in prison officer recruitment and a new campaign in offender employment has contributed to the increase in spend.

Prisons: Overcrowding

John Howell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the report entitled Report to the United Kingdom Government on the periodic visit to the United Kingdom carried out by the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) from 8 to 21 June 2021, published on 7 July 2022, and the Government's response to that report, published on 7 July 2022, if he will take steps to reduce overcrowding in the prison estate by implementing changes to sentencing (a) policies and (b) other practices.

Stuart Andrew: The Government is committed to a sentencing framework that takes account of the true nature of crimes and targets specific groups of offenders accordingly. This means that serious criminals must spend time in prison that reflects the gravity of their crimes, whilst we also look to divert offenders away from a life of crime and support them to rehabilitate. The Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act introduced targeted interventions for the most serious and most dangerous offenders, and those of most public concern. This includes those who commit the premeditated murder of a child, for example. These are serious crimes, and we must ensure that offenders are receiving appropriate punishments so that victims are protected for longer and the public can have confidence in the system. This government has made tangible progress in tackling the £18 billion cost of reoffending and protecting the public. Data shows that over the last 10 years, reoffending rates have decreased from 30.9% in 2009/10 to 25.6% in 2019/2020. To continue this progress, we will invest £200m a year by 2024-25 to improve prison leavers’ access to accommodation, employment support and substance misuse treatment. This includes delivering a Prisoner Education Service which raises the level of the numeracy, literacy, skills and qualifications of offenders and delivering a presumption in favour of offering offenders the chance to work in prisons and on release. Alongside delivering 20,000 additional prison places by the middle of this decade, we are also continuing to invest in critical maintenance projects to ensure as much capacity as possible is kept online. This will have a positive impact on lowering the proportion of crowding within the prison estate.

Treasury

Private Education: VAT

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an estimate of the revenue that would be raised from removing the VAT-exempt status of private schools.

Lucy Frazer: Many supplies of education, including those provided by eligible independent schools, are exempt from VAT. This means that no VAT is charged to the final consumer, and that the schools cannot recover VAT they incur on their costs. The Government keeps all taxes under review, and any future changes to the UK tax system will be costed in the usual way.

Arms Trade: Export Controls

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many fines HMRC have issued for breaches of the UK arms export regime since May 2022; and how much each of those fines has been.

Lucy Frazer: HMRC has issued 1 compound settlement from 1 May 2022 to date for breaches of the UK arms export regime. The value of this settlement was £105,000. Information on HMRC enforcement outcomes is published in the Strategic Export Controls Annual Reports available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/united-kingdom-strategic-export-controls-annual-report.

Taxation: Rebates

Stephen Farry: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, for what reason HMRC has issued personal tax refunds to third party companies rather than the individuals owed; and whether HMRC is taking steps to resolve that matter.

Lucy Frazer: Individuals can claim tax repayments from HMRC and HMRC will refund them directly. However, HMRC will issue a tax repayment to a third party when a taxpayer has either nominated or assigned the repayment to them. Companies which specialize in claiming tax refunds often use assignments as part of the sign-up process, which means the repayment then legally belongs to that agent. When a taxpayer signs an assignment, HMRC is obliged to make payment directly to the repayment agent. Individual taxpayers are entitled to withdraw a nomination unilaterally, but agreement is needed from both parties to revoke an assignment. The Government is aware that some taxpayers are unaware that an assignment will be used, or may not understand what it means in practice. HMRC launched the “Raising standards in tax advice: protecting customers claiming tax repayments” consultation on 22 June 2022, which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/raising-standards-in-tax-advice-protecting-customers-claiming-tax-repayments. One proposed measure the consultation seeks views on is restricting the use of assignments for tax repayments. The consultation is running for 12 weeks and will close on 14 September 2022. Any decision resulting from the consultation will be announced at a future fiscal event.

Older People: Income Tax

Christine Jardine: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 7 July 2022 to Question 30119 on Income Tax: Older People, if he will publish the constituency-level breakdown of HMRC’s Income Tax liabilities statistics containing the number of taxpayers aged 65 and over since 2019.

Lucy Frazer: I refer the hon. Member for Edinburgh West to the answer that was given on the 7 July 2022 to the Question UIN 30119.

Hospitality Sector: VAT

Sarah Olney: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much VAT has been paid by businesses across the hospitality sector in each of the last three years.

Lucy Frazer: The hospitality sector broadly equates to the Sector Industrial Classification of ‘Accommodation and Food Service Activities’ which is divided between two subsectors: accommodation, and food and beverage service activities. The following is the Net VAT declared across these two subsectors for the three most recent years of published data found in the HMRC’s publication, VAT annual statistics: Subsector2018-192019-202020-21Accommodation2,2402,110-500Food and beverage service activities6,6706,770980All figures are in £ millions. These declarations data reflect the net liabilities from VAT returns (rather than actual payments made) and are not impacted by the VAT deferral scheme which allowed businesses to defer their VAT between 20 March and 30 June 2020. The negative figure for the Accommodation subsector in 2020-21 reflects that that this subsector was in a net repayment position this year, whereby VAT Repayments exceeded VAT Payments. This was mainly due to the reduced 5 per cent VAT rate that was introduced on 15 July 2020.

Airports: Vetting

Louise Haigh: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department has received recent representations on the provision of HMRC employment data to airports for the purpose of facilitating employment checks.

Lucy Frazer: HMRC has received representation from the industry and is working closely with the Department of Transport. HMRC has provided support and guidance to the industry that allows employees to present their employment history to prospective employers and, on Monday 25 July, will enhance the employment history service within the Personal Tax Account to make the process easier. HMRC has an equivalent process for those customers unable to use the digital service.

Economic Growth

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the OECD's United Kingdom Economic Snapshot published in June 2022, what assessment he has made of the implications for his Department’s policies over the next twelve months of the zero per cent growth forecast for GDP in 2023.

Richard Fuller: Annual growth in 2021 was the fastest in the G7, and GDP data for Q1 2022 showed the UK had the joint fastest growth in the G7. The Office for Budget Responsibility are the government’s official forecaster, and they will update their forecasts for UK GDP in the Autumn. Like other advanced economies, the UK is affected by global economic challenges, including the unprovoked Russian invasion of Ukraine. Support provided over the past two years has put the UK economy in a good position to deal with these challenges, with a record number of employees on payrolls and a strong economic recovery from the pandemic. The government has also taken significant action to support households with the cost of living, totalling around £37bn this year.

Mortgages: Defaulters

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many mortgage defaults have occurred in each of the last 12 months.

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the mortgage default rate is in the UK.

Richard Fuller: The latest available data from the Bank of England (published 14 June 2022) shows that the proportion of total mortgage loan balances with arrears in Q1 2022 was 0.82%, the lowest level since recording began in 2007. This is consistent with falling arrears levels over the previous 12 months. The Government works closely with the regulators to monitor the resilience of mortgage borrowers and continues its efforts to support those in financial difficulty. The Government offers Support for Mortgage Interest (SMI) loans to homeowners in receipt of an income-related benefit and protection in the courts under the Mortgage Pre-Action Protocol to help prevent repossession. This makes it clear that repossession must always be the last resort for lenders. Any borrowers worried about their mortgage payments should make early contact with their lender to discuss the forbearance options available to them.

Economic Growth

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the OECD's United Kingdom Economic Snapshot published in June 2022, what assessment he has made of the implications for the UK economy of the zero per cent growth forecast for GDP in 2023.

Richard Fuller: I refer the Honourable Member to the answer I gave to PQ UIN 37482.

Cost of Living Payments: Second Homes

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department made of additional payments to multiple-home owners in their distributional analysis on the Cost of Living Support package.

Mr Simon Clarke: The Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) consulted on the basis of paying EBSS via domestic electricity meter points. The Government response will be published later in the summer. The Government’s intention is for EBSS to reach as many households as possible from October, while minimizing the administrative complexity of the scheme. The Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) has consulted on the basis of paying EBSS via domestic electricity meter points. While some households have second homes or multiple meter points, it is important to balance this against the timely and efficient delivery of this scheme. Distributional analysis produced by HM Treasury relies on an established microsimulation model of the UK tax and benefit system. This model is designed to be used for estimating the impacts of a wide range of policies and does not contain information about households’ multiple home ownership.

Mineworkers' Pension Scheme

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Oral question of 12 July 2022, Official Report, column 138, on the Mineworkers Pension Scheme, whether the Treasury has received the Trustee’s proposal on the issue; and if his Department will make a decision on that proposal by 21 July 2022.

Mr Simon Clarke: HM Treasury recognises the importance of the issue and has approved the Mineworkers’ Pension Scheme Trustees’ request to bring forward the ‘bonus protection’ arrangements.

Treasury: Advertising

Jon Trickett: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much their Department has spent on advertising in (a) 2020, (b) 2021 and (c) 2022.

Alan Mak: HM Treasury spent the following on advertising over the last 4 financial years: Financial YearCost2019-20£114,8642020-21£327,8382021-22£134,7742022-23 (up to June 22)£51,901

Brexit

Janet Daby: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the economic impact of leaving the European Union on (a) energy prices, (b) food prices, (c) footwear prices and (d) NHS funding.

Mr Simon Clarke: It is for the Office for Budget Responsibility to provide and publish economic and fiscal forecasting. In its March Economic and Fiscal Outlook the OBR noted that higher inflation was mainly a result of increased global goods and energy prices and a tightening labour market. It remains challenging to separate out the effects of different events. The Bank of England has also noted that the majority of the increase in inflation since the pandemic is likely due to global factors.The government understands that people across the UK are worried about the rising cost of living. In May, we announced over £15 billion of additional cost of living support, targeted at those with the greatest need. Government support for the cost of living now totals over £37 billion this year, equivalent to 1.5% of GDP.

Fraud: Costs

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions he has had with the Home Secretary on producing an estimate for the total financial cost of fraud in the UK against (a) individuals, (b) businesses and (c) the Government in (i) financial year 2020-21, (ii) calendar year 2021 and (iii) financial year 2021-22.

Mr Simon Clarke: Treasury ministers and officials regularly engage with the Home Office to discuss shared policy interests, such as the response to fraud. The Treasury takes fraud extremely seriously and has been consistently clear that fraud is never acceptable and that those who have defrauded the government will be subject to both criminal and commercial recovery efforts. Since 2021, over £750m has been announced to combat fraud. This includes £25m for the creation of a new Public Sector Fraud Authority. We do not hold estimates for the total financial cost of fraud in the UK to individuals and businesses for the financial years 2020-21, 2021-22 or the calendar year 2021. However, the Crime Survey for England and Wales estimates the volume of fraud experienced by individuals and their average losses. This can be found at:https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/datasets/crimeinenglandandwalesappendixtables Action Fraud is a Home Office central reporting service and records reported financial losses experienced by businesses and individuals. This can be found at:https://colp.maps.arcgis.com/apps/dashboards/0334150e430449cf8ac917e347897d46 The Counter Fraud Function in Cabinet Office undertakes activity to estimate the level of fraud and error in the public sector. Pre COVID-19 this was estimated to be a minimum of £29 billion per year. Departments publish an Annual Report and Accounts for each financial year, as part of this they are now required to include estimates of COVID-19 fraud. These have now been published for the financial year 2020-21 and are due to be published for 2021-2022 shortly. These reports are available on GOV.UK departmentally, but not as a collective, cross-government estimate.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Zimbabwe: Sanitary Protection

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent steps she has taken to help support women and girls in Zimbabwe to access women's hygiene and sanitary products.

Vicky Ford: Alongside international partners, the UK has funded the 'Supporting a Resilient Health System' (SRHS) Programme in Zimbabwe, which delivered essential sexual, reproductive, maternal, new-born, child and adolescent health and nutrition services. This programme benefitted 5.4 million women and children in Zimbabwe between 2017 and 2022. The SRHS programme delivered menstrual health education as part of the Sister2Sister (S2S) clubs which included supporting sustainable menstrual health options for girls such as disposable pads, reusable pads, menstrual cups, and menstrual underwear. The UK is also working alongside the Government of Zimbabwe to help provide sanitary products for schools - since 2012, 60,000 girls have been provided with sanitary pads have been provided through the UK-supported Zimbabwe Girls' Secondary Education (ZGSE) Programme.

FSO Safer

Mr David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what specific financial contribution her Department has made to the UN appeal to avert a potential environmental catastrophe caused by the deteriorating condition of the FSO Safer.

Amanda Milling: The UK has contributed a total of £6 million, including an additional £2 million I announced on 18 July 2022, toward the UN plan to mitigate the environmental and humanitarian risk posed by the FSO Safer. In addition, the UK is coordinating with other donors to support the UN fundraising campaign and has provided technical assistance to the UN throughout the development of their response plan.

Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether the Government plans to sign the United Nations Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions the Government has had with United Nations representatives on the implementation of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.

Graham Stuart: The Government does not believe the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) will bring us closer to a world without nuclear weapons. The UK will therefore not sign or engage with the Treaty.The Government firmly believes that the best way to achieve our collective goal of a world without nuclear weapons is through gradual multilateral disarmament negotiated using a step-by-step approach, under the framework of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). The UK looks forward to working with all states to strengthen the NPT at the Tenth Review Conference in August.

Ukraine: Armed Conflict

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department is taking at (a) the United Nations and (b) other international bodies to help secure a (i) ceasefire and (ii) permanent cessation of hostilities between Russia and Ukraine; and if she will make a statement.

Graham Stuart: The future of Ukraine should be decided by its democratically elected government and people. There can be no prospect of a ceasefire or cessation of hostilities while Putin remains determined to pursue his war of aggression. The UK is playing a leading role in the UN Security Council, OSCE, G7 and other multilateral fora to urge Russia to cease hostilities, make a full withdrawal and commit to meaningful dialogue. The UK, together with our partners, will continue to provide enduring diplomatic, military and economic support to Ukraine to ensure that it is in the best possible position to deliver a sustainable, just peace through any negotiation process.

Developing Countries: Farmers

Mr Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps she is taking to help small-scale farmers in low-income countries access the funding pledged during COP26.

Vicky Ford: The UK Government remains committed to doubling our International Climate Finance to £11.6 billion between 2021/22 and 2025/26. This includes programmes specifically designed to help smallholder farmers in the most climate vulnerable countries access funding to adopt sustainable and resilient agricultural practices. For example, the £65 million Just Rural Transition Support Programme, announced at COP26 will support developing countries to design and implement approaches that help their farmers build resilience and drive investment into more sustainable methods of agriculture through repurposing agricultural policies and support. This programme will also include support to ensure that farmers, including smallholders, are involved in policy-making processes, for example through consultations, trials and pilot programmes for new technologies and approaches. We are also supporting the Commercial Agriculture for Smallholders and Agribusiness programme to work with producer organisations and agri-businesses in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia to increase sourcing of agri-food products from smallholder farmers and to help farmers adopt climate-smart and productivity-enhancing agriculture technologies.As well as supporting developing countries through UK Aid funded programmes we, together with the World Bank, convene a Policy Dialogue on Accelerating Transition to Sustainable Agriculture through redirecting public policies and support and scaling innovation. This has brought more than 30 countries together from across the globe to share evidence and experience and collectively raise ambition.

Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty Review Conference

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what her Department's priorities are for the Nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty Review Conference in August 2022; what recent discussions she has had on this matter; and if she will make a statement.

Graham Stuart: The UK looks forward to working with all states to strengthen the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) at the Tenth Review Conference in August, where we will mark the significant progress of the past 50 years. Our priority is to reaffirm our commitment to the NPT, finding common areas of agreement across all three pillars (disarmament, non-proliferation and peaceful uses of nuclear technology). Ministers and the Foreign Secretary regularly engage in discussions on the NPT and the UK remains committed to full implementation of the NPT in all its aspects. The latest Government position on this was set out in the National Report released in Nov 2021, available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/treaty-on-the-non-proliferation-of-nuclear-weapons-uk-national-report-for-the-10th-review-conference.

Belarus: Sanctions

Tony Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether the Government has plans to align the sanctions it has imposed against Belarus with those it has imposed against Russia.

Graham Stuart: We will ensure that the Belarusian regime continues to feel the economic consequences for its facilitation of Putin's war of choice. On 5 July, the UK introduced new economic, trade and transport sanctions against Belarus, including import and export bans on goods and restricting access to UK financial services.  This follows on from our sanctions imposed on Lukashenko and 117 other individuals and entities. These sanctions deliver commitments made by the Foreign Secretary in February to extend those sanctions against persons in Russia who support Putin's illegal war, to include people or entities in Belarus.

Development Aid: Fossil Fuels

Chris Law: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much her Department has spent on fossil fuel projects overseas in each of the last three years.

Vicky Ford: Since 31 March 2021 the UK Government no longer provides any new direct financial support for fossil fuel energy overseas. There are limited exemptions such as health and safety improvements and gas power generation forming part of wider clean energy transitions.In the last 3 years the main area of Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) funding (and legacy DFID) for international fossil fuel projects has been for energy infrastructure through British International Investment (formerly known as the CDC Group) and the Private Infrastructure Development Group (PIDG). Other areas of assistance include strengthening governance in the fossil fuel sector and accelerating access to clean cooking through the use of gas.British International Investment (BII) publishes its energy portfolio: data is available for 2019 and 2020. BII's energy portfolio as at 31 December 2021 will be published in due course.PIDG is a multi-donor programme. The UK is the owner that has provided the largest financial support to PIDG, providing some $1.2 billion of the $1.8 billion of funding provided by owners from 2002-2021. Collectively, the PIDG contributed approximately £47.9 million (2019), £59.5 million (2020), and £32.0 million (2021) to fossil fuel projects - exclusively gas fired electricity generation and storage infrastructure.FCDO is working closely with other government departments and international partners to scale-up access to renewable energy and transition away from fossil fuels while ensuring affordability and security of supplies.

Developing Countries: Pregnancy

Sarah Champion: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the UK Government's Strategy for International Development, published on 16 May 2022, what steps her Department is taking to help address unintended pregnancy as a barrier to girls’ education.

Vicky Ford: The UK is committed to standing up for the right of every girl to 12 years of quality education, which will have positive impacts on a wide range of development indicators, including reducing child marriage, adolescent pregnancy, and exposure to gender-based violence. The children of educated women are also less likely to marry early and have children during adolescence.The UK is clear that girls who are pregnant or are already mothers have the same rights to education as all children. We work proactively with governments to support these girls to remain in and re-enter school. In recent years the UK played a central role in the removal of policies that banned pregnant girls from attending school in Sierra Leone and Tanzania. In Sierra Leone we are supporting roll out of the Government's Radical Inclusion Policy which, among other goals, aims to support pregnant girls and mothers to remain in education. Supporting teenage mothers to return to school is also part of our education work in Zambia and I personally raised this issue during my recent visit to Uganda, where I stressed the importance of enabling teenage mothers to return to school.We also work across a range of programme and diplomatic channels to secure access to comprehensive sexual and reproductive health services for adolescent girls and women and support efforts to enhance access to quality comprehensive sexuality education. This includes our renewed support to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Supplies programme to advance the availability of modern contraception in the world's poorest countries and continued leadership through the global family planning partnership, FP2030. The UK funds the UNFPA-UNICEF Global Programme to End Child Marriage, which delivers comprehensive sexuality education for adolescent girls at risk of child marriage, those who are already married or pregnant, to build knowledge of their rights and connect them to services.

Development Aid: African Development Bank

Sarah Champion: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what funding her Department plans to allocate through the African Development Bank for the next three financial years.

Vicky Ford: Over the 2023-24 to 2025-26 financial years, the UK is expected to contribute £23.6 million to the African Development Bank's 7th General Capital Increase. Our funding to the African Development Fund (ADF) over this period will be determined by our pledge to the 16th replenishment. Pledges for this replenishment, which will run from January 2023 to December 2025, are expected to be made in October or November 2022. Negotiations for this replenishment are currently underway and Ministers will decide on our pledge in due course. Over these financial years, we will also contribute around £61.7 million to the ADF under the Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative.The above figures are core multilateral contributions to the African Development Bank. In addition to these core contributions, the FCDO also provides some bilateral funding to trust funds that are managed by the Bank, including Africa Disaster Risks Financing.At COP26, the Prime Minister announced that the UK is providing a Room to Run guarantee to the Bank that will enable it to provide up to $2 billion of additional financing over four years to support countries across Africa to tackle climate change.

Development Aid: African Development Bank

Sarah Champion: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what funding her Department has disbursed through the African Development Bank from 1 April 2018 to 31 March 2022.

Vicky Ford: Between 1 April 2018 and 31 March 2022, the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) provided £54.6 million for the African Development Bank General Capital Increases and £653 million to the African Development Fund (ADF). FCDO also provided £42.5 million to the ADF under the Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative (MDRI).The above figures are core multilateral contributions to the African Development Bank. In addition to these core contributions, the FCDO has provided some bilateral funding to trust funds that are managed by the Bank, including Africa Disaster Risks Financing (ADRIFI).At COP26, the PM announced that the UK is providing a Room to Run guarantee to the Bank that will enable it to provide up to $2bn of additional financing over four years to support countries across Africa to tackle climate change.

Development Aid: African Development Bank

Sarah Champion: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much UK Government funding has been allocated through the African Development Bank in the (a) 2022-23 and (b) 2021-22 financial year; and which three programmes received the largest amount of such funding in each of those financial years.

Vicky Ford: In 2022-23, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) provided £23.5 million to the African Development Bank as part of its 7th General Capital Increase (GCI7). We have provided £20.1 million to the African Development Fund (ADF), the Bank's concessional arm, under the Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative. We are also due to provide further funding to the 15th replenishment of the ADF later this financial year.In 2021-22 the FCDO provided £35.4 million to GCI7 and £177.1 million to ADF15.The above figures are core multilateral contributions to the African Development Bank. In addition to these core contributions, the FCDO has provided some bilateral funding to trust funds that are managed by the Bank, including Africa Disaster Risks Financing. In addition, at COP26, the PM announced that the UK is providing a Room to Run guarantee to the Bank that will enable it to provide up to $2 billion of additional financing over four years to support countries across Africa to tackle climate change.We do not earmark our core multilateral funding to the Bank to particular projects.

Ministry of Defence

Ukraine: Military Aid

Drew Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether it is his policy to offer the Ukrainian Government the inclusion of training in the Murad Code within the training provided to Ukrainian defence personnel.

James Heappey: Specific training on the Murad Code is not being provided to Ukrainian defence personnel. The three-week training provided to Ukrainian defence personnel does include sessions on Human Security and the Law of Armed Conflict. Human Security training provided includes awareness and understanding of Conflict Related Sexual Violence (CRSV). This training enhances understanding of how defence personnel can recognise, respond, report, and refer when dealing with Human Security related problems.

Armed Forces: Parachuting

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 14 July 2022 to Question 33782 on Armed Forces: Parachuting, for what period HM Forces will be without the capability to low-level parachute once the Hercules goes out of service.

James Heappey: A low-level mass parachuting capability will be delivered in 2023.

NATO Innovation Fund

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the potential benefits available to the UK from the new NATO Innovation Fund; and how the UK will be involved in the project.

James Heappey: The NATO Innovation Fund (NIF) will increase investment in UK deep tech dual-use technologies that support national security objectives and contribute towards the UK's Integrated Review ambitions to be a science superpower. It will support UK security by helping to maintain NATO's technological edge.The NIF complements the UK's existing initiative in this space - the National Strategic Security Investment Fund (NSSIF) - and is expected to facilitate UK start-ups selling into European NATO allies given our expertise in this area.Participation in the Fund will also complement the UK's role in DIANA, hosting the European HQ along with one of nine DIANA Accelerators.The UK will be a participating member of the NIF as a limited partner in the funds management, with voting rights over key decisions, and will contribute financially to the fund. The UK has offered itself as host to the headquarters of the Fund, but we await a final decision by the Managing Director once appointed.

NATO Innovation Fund

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what contribution the UK has made to the NATO Innovation Fund.

Jeremy Quin: In October 2021, the UK was one of 17 Allies to commit to leading development the 1-billion-euro NATO Innovation Fund (NIF). The UK confirmed its participation in the NIF with its launch at the NATO Leaders summit in June. The UK has provided financial and legal expertise to aid in the design of the NIF ahead of its launch. The multinational fund will work hand-in-hand with DIANA (Defence Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic) to support the development of the transatlantic innovation community.

Defence: Employment

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department has made an estimate of the total number of UK jobs supported by MOD expenditure in financial year 2020-21 which were omitted from the MOD Regional Expenditure with UK Industry and Commerce and supported employment 2020-21 statistics.

Jeremy Quin: Ministry of Defence’s (MOD) estimates of the number of UK jobs supported by MOD expenditure, including by Region, are dependent on verified data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS)’s Business Surveys. COVID-19 delayed publication of the required ONS data for the MOD’s Regional Expenditure with UK Industry and Commerce and supported employment 2020-21 statistics. In due course we will be publishing a revision of the bulletin which will include job estimates for 2020-21.

Porton Capital

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department plans to take steps to investigate the fund raising process run by Porton Capital.

Jeremy Quin: This is a matter for the relevant regulatory bodies and, if appropriate, the courts.

Rheinmetall BAE Systems Land: Contracts

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make an estimate of the potential number of UK-based jobs supported (a) directly and (b) indirectly by the contract awarded to Rheinmetall BAE Systems to provide post-design support services to the Army’s armoured vehicle fleet.

Jeremy Quin: The new contract for Post-Design Support services to support the Army's Armoured Vehicle fleet has not yet been awarded and I am therefore unable to comment on the potential number of UK jobs that the contract might support.

Armoured Fighting Vehicles

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the retirement dates are for the (a) Bulldog, (b) Warrior, (c) Challenger 2, (d) Combat Vehicle Reconnaissance (Tracked), (e) Titan, Trojan and Terrier, (f) Artillery System 90, (g) Challenger Armoured Repair and Recovery Vehicle and (h) Panther.

Jeremy Quin: The currently planned Out of Service Dates (OSD) are as follows: Bulldog – 2030 Warrior – 2025 Challenger 2 – 2028 Combat Vehicle Reconnaissance (Tracked) – 2023 Titan and Trojan – 2040 Terrier – 2043 Artillery System 90 – 2030 Challenger Armoured Repair and Recovery Vehicle – 2040 Panther – 2037

Antitank Missiles: Procurement

Mr Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department is taking steps to increase the levels of production of Next Generation Light Anti-Armour Weapons to ensure stocks remain stable.

Jeremy Quin: The Ministry of Defence continues to work closely with our industrial partners to ensure that stocks of Next Generation Light Anti-Armour Weapons remain appropriate, and procurement activity to replenish is ongoing.

Department for Work and Pensions

Cost of Living Payments

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people have received cost of living payments as of 13 July 2022.

David Rutley: The Department for Work and Pensions has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Cost of Living Payments

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will publish a breakdown of the number of cost of living payments provided to (a) households and (b) individuals on each day since that payment was introduced.

David Rutley: The Department for Work and Pensions has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Cost of Living Payments

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will provide an estimate of the impact of inflation on the real terms value of the second cost of living payment due in Autumn 2022.

David Rutley: The cost-of-living payment for means-tested benefits is worth up to £650 and is paid out in two instalments. The first instalment is to be paid from the 14th July 2022, worth £326. The government will automatically pay the second instalment worth £324, in the autumn to eligible households. Inflation forecasts are only available on a quarterly basis. Therefore it is not possible to estimate the impact of inflation on the real terms value of the second cost of living payment.

Universal Credit

Stephen Farry: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of removing the requirement for people undergoing managed migration from Legacy Benefits to Universal Credit to make a new application.

David Rutley: Section 33 of the Welfare Reform Act prescribes for the abolition of legacy benefits for the move to UC and sets a requirement for a new claim to be made.As a consequence, everyone who is required to move will receive a managed migration notice informing them that they need to make a claim for Universal Credit.

Universal Credit

Stephen Farry: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when she plans to cease transitory protections for people undergoing managed migration to Universal Credit in 2023-2024.

David Rutley: Transitional Protection ensures eligible claimants moved by the Department from legacy benefits to UC will not have a lower entitlement than they had via legacy benefits at the point of their move to UC. This protection is not designed to provide indefinite financial protection. It will erode by increases in other elements of UC or where new elements (other than the Childcare Costs element) are awarded to a claimant’s UC award. It can also be terminated if a claimant experiences a significant change of circumstances such as where a claimant separates from their partner or forms a new couple, or where the UC award ceases. Once stopped, a claimant’s transitional element will not generally be reapplied to their UC award, should they make another UC claim. The exception is where the original Universal Credit claim was stopped due to an increase in earnings and a new claim to Universal Credit is made within four months of the date for which Universal Credit was last awarded.

Cost of Living Payments

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an estimate of the number of people eligible to receive a cost of living payment who will not receive that payment before the end of July 2022.

David Rutley: DWP are on track to process this first instalment to seven million eligible, low-income households receiving benefits by the end of July, and this has not changed.In some cases, with more complex circumstances – less than 1% of those entitled to the instalment – the payments will take slightly longer to process. But all eligible households will automatically receive the first instalment.

Department for Work and Pensions: Advertising

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much their Department has spent on advertising in (a) 2020, (b) 2021 and (c) 2022.

Guy Opperman: Total Advertising Spend2019-20 16,317,534 2020-21 15,677,340 2021-22 18,128,093  Source: Hyperion

Parental Pay: Living Wage

Owen Thompson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of increasing Statutory (a) Maternity and (b) Paternity Pay to the level of the real living wage as determined by the Living Wage Foundation.

Guy Opperman: Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) and Statutory Paternity Pay (SPP) are not, and have never been, intended to replace earnings completely. Both are reviewed annually, alongside state benefits, and are generally increased in line with the Consumer Prices Index (CPI). From April 2022 the standard rate of SMP and SPP increased to £156.66, in line with the September 2021 CPI rate of 3.1%.

Working Conditions: Weather

Florence Eshalomi: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps they are taking to mitigate the impact of extreme heat temperatures on workers with no access to a cool environment during heatwaves.

Chloe Smith: The Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 place a legal obligation on employers to provide a ‘reasonable’ temperature in indoor workplaces. In addition, the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 require employers to make a suitable assessment of the risks to the health and safety of their employees and take action where necessary and where reasonably practicable. Employers must make sure indoor workplaces remain at a reasonable temperature and manage the risk of working outdoors in hot environments. It is for each business to make a risk-based decision on how to minimise the health risks to their workers whilst working in extreme heat. As part of this employers may set their own thresholds at which work activity should take place. Detailed guidance for employers on workplace temperature and thermal comfort is available on the Health and Safety Executive’s (HSE) website. This guidance includes information on how to undertake a thermal comfort assessment and specific measures that can be taken to improve thermal comfort. Employers should consult with employees or their representatives to establish sensible means to cope with high temperatures. Should an employee consider that their employer is not taking appropriate measures to cope with high temperatures, this should be raised with their enforcing authority.

COP26

Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the President of COP26, how many nations have submitted updated Nationally Determined Contributions in advance of COP27 as of 8 July 2022.

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the President of COP26, what assessment he has made of the progress of nations on submitting new Nationally Determined Contributions since COP26.

Alok Sharma: Since COP26, there have been 16 NDC submissions. This represents progress but the Government continues to work closely with partner countries and organisations to drive climate ambition, and to urge all countries to revisit and strengthen their NDCs by the end of 2022 to close the ambition gap and keep 1.5C within reach.

Climate Change

Wendy Chamberlain: To ask the President of COP26, what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of Government policies to tackle climate change.

Alok Sharma: Over the last thirty years the UK has reduced its emissions by over 40% whilst GDP has gone up over 80%.In recent years, we have decarbonised our economy faster than any other G7 nation.

Greenhouse Gas Emissions

John Penrose: To ask the President of COP26, whether he has had discussions with Cabinet colleagues on the potential effect on domestic manufacturing of including carbon that is embedded in imports in calculations of the UK's carbon footprint.

Alok Sharma: The UK follows the agreed international approach for reporting greenhouse gas emissions, whereby countries report emissions produced within their territories.We will continue to drive international co-operation to counter the risk of emissions offshoring and the Government will consult later this year on Carbon Leakage Mitigation options.

Carbon Emissions

Mr Philip Hollobone: To ask the President of COP26, if he will make an estimate of the proportion of global (a) GDP and (b) emissions generated by countries that have net zero commitments.

Alok Sharma: When the UK took on the role of organising COP26 less than 30% of the global economy was covered by Net Zero targets.As a result of the work the UK did with partners, by the time we got to COP26 over 90% of the world's economy was covered by Net Zero targets.

Businesses: Climate Change

Selaine Saxby: To ask the President of COP26, what recent assessment he has made of the progress of businesses in developing solutions to climate change.

Alok Sharma: Businesses absolutely drive the innovation in green technologies, both in terms of efficiency and also reduction in costs.The wind, solar and electric vehicle sectors demonstrate what R&D, innovation and economies of scale can do in terms of the expansion of clean technologies across the world.

Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Chi Onwurah: To ask the President of COP26, what discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on the findings and recommendations of the Climate Change Committee’s 2022 Progress Report to Parliament.

Alok Sharma: I met with the chair of the Climate Change Committee following the publication of the report.The Cabinet’s Climate Action Implementation Committee, which I chair, has also had an initial discussion on the findings of the report.The Government will set out a formal response later this year.

Climate Change: Private Finance Initiative

Jerome Mayhew: To ask the President of COP26, what recent assessment he has made of the potential role of private finance in delivering COP26 objectives.

Alok Sharma: Action from private finance will be vital in helping to deliver many of the commitments made by countries and companies at COP26.For example, the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero, representing over 130 trillion dollars, will have a key role to play in mobilising capital to support green projects in emerging economies.

Home Office

Fire and Rescue Services: Finance

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has had discussions with Cabinet colleagues on the potential merits of introducing emergency funding to fire safety crews in (a) Hampshire and (b) England to meet recent trends in the level of service demand.

Tom Pursglove: Fire and rescue services have the resources they need to do their important work. Overall fire and rescue authorities in England will receive around £2.5 billion in 2022/23. Hampshire and Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Authority has a core spending power of £80.9m, an increase of £6.2m (8.3%) compared to 2021/22.Over the past 10 years (year ending December 2011– year ending December 2021) the total number of all incidents in England attended by fire and rescue services has fallen by 8% and the total number of fire incidents in England has fallen by 34%.

Police

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the police to population ratio is for (a) police and (b) police community support officers (i) nationally and (ii) in York.

Tom Pursglove: The Home Office collects and publishes data on the size of the police workforce in England and Wales on a biannual basis in the ‘Police workforce, England and Wales’ statistical bulletin, available here: Police workforce England and Wales statistics - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)These data are collected by Police Force Area only, and lower levels of geography, such as Parliamentary Constituencies or Metropolitan Boroughs are not collected.Table H4 of the data tables accompanying the latest publication, shows the number of full time equivalent (FTE) police officers as at 31 March 2021 per 100,000 population both nationally and at a Police Force Area level. The data tables are available here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1060642/police-workforce-mar21-tables-second-edition.ods.odsAs at 31 March 2021, there are 179 police officers per 100,000 population in North Yorkshire Police, and 227 in England and Wales.Equivalently, as at 31 March 2021, there are 29 Police Community Support Officers per 100,000 population in North Yorkshire Police, and 16 in England and Wales.The rate of police officers and PCSOs per 100,000 population has been calculated using the 2020 mid-year population estimates published by the Office for National Statistics at: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/populationandmigration/populationestimates/bulletins/annualmidyearpopulationestimates/mid2020The next release of the ‘Police workforce, England and Wales’ statistical bulletin, which will cover the situation as at 31 March 2022, is scheduled for release at 9.30am on Wednesday 27th July.

Science: Research

Henry Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential economic merits of the UK becoming a global leader in the development of non-animal technologies for use in scientific research and testing.

Tom Pursglove: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Science: Research

Henry Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to help ensure faster progress on the development of non-animal technologies for use in scientific research and testing; and if she will make a statement.

Tom Pursglove: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Fire and Rescue Services: Cancer

Janet Daby: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the World Health Organisation report entitled Carcinogenicity of occupational exposure as a firefighter, published on 30 June 2022, if she will make an assessment of the implications of her policies of the evidence linking flame retardants to cancers in firefighters.

Tom Pursglove: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Animal Experiments

Henry Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will commit to the (a) phasing out the use of animals in experiments and (b) phasing in of non-animal alternatives as soon as it is scientifically possible to do so; and if she will make a statement.

Tom Pursglove: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Fire and Rescue Services: Cancer

Janet Daby: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the World Health Organisation report entitled Carcinogenicity of occupational exposure as a firefighter, published on 30th June 2022, if she will include cancer in firefighters related to flame retardant chemicals in the list of diseases covered by the Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit.

Tom Pursglove: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Sexual Harassment: Public Places

Stella Creasy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Answer of 20 June 2022 to Question 18899 on Sexual Harassment: Public Places, whether she plans to publish the consultation on public sexual harassment ahead of the summer recess.

Amanda Solloway: I confirm that we plan to publish the consultation on public sexual harassment before the summer recess.

Home Office: Training

Mr Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much her Department has spent on away days for Ministers and staff in each of the last four calendar years.

Tom Pursglove: The Home Office does not publish the information sought to the level of granularity required and identifying spending on away days specifically from our management systems can only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Community Policing

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will take steps to encourage and promote community policing.

Tom Pursglove: Visible policing in local neighbourhoods is central to the British model of policing by consent. It is important that police are accessible and accountable to communities and engage with them to build trust and understand community needs.We are committed to delivering on the people’s priorities and ensuring that policing has the resources it needs; we have increased the police funding settlement by £1.1billion in 2022/23, and through the Police Uplift Programme, police forces in England and Wales have already recruited over 13,500 additional officers (as at 31 March 2022) and are on track to deliver 20,000 additional officers by March 2023.Decisions about frontline policing, and how resources are best deployed, are for Chief Constables and democratically accountable Police and Crime Commissioners. They are best placed to make decisions with their communities based on their local knowledge and experience.

Police: Bureaucracy

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to help reduce administrative tasks for police and support staff.

Tom Pursglove: Administrative tasks which are undertaken by police and support staff can include effective casefile preparation and establishing high quality disclosure practices, which is vital if justice is to be done.The Home Office is committed to investing in policing capabilities and resources to help improve timeliness and enhance the quality of investigations, while also considering and seeking to reduce the burden on officers.The Government is making several targeted investments through the Police Digital Service to improve the efficiency of police force activity. This will automate tasks, connect policing systems and reduce administrative burdens on officers.In addition, the Police Covenant was established as part of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022. One of its priorities under the Covenant is to help policing leaders find innovative solutions to reduce burdens of unnecessary demands, including disproportionate administration, and achieve a balance for all policing staff.

Asylum: Hotels

Stephen Farry: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to ensure the welfare of asylum seekers in contingency accommodation in hotels; and for what specific aspects of the welfare of those asylum seekers (a) her Department, (b) Mears and (c) Migrant Help have responsibility under the relevant contracts.

Stephen Farry: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to asylum seekers who are in contingency accommodation in hotels, what training staff in those hotels receive to help them in dealing with traumatised people; and who is responsible for overseeing the treatment of residents by staff in those hotels.

Simon Baynes: The Asylum Accommodation and Support Contracts (AASC), set out clearly what the Home Office requires of its accommodation providers, including requirements in relation to our customers welfare and needs. All of this is set out in the Statement of Requirements which can be found here: Schedule 2 In addition to the AASC contracts, the Home Office also provides the Advice, Issue Reporting and Eligibility (AIRE) service, to act as a primary point of contact for asylum seekers, which is available 24 hours a day to provide advice, guidance, and support to asylum seekers whilst they are within our care. Details of the services that are provided under AIRE can be found here: AIRE Contract The Home Office monitors providers closely to ensure the requirements we set out in our contracts are being delivered, this includes physically inspecting contingency sites. In addition, the Independent Chief Inspector, in his recent inspection of contingency accommodation, also inspected contingency sites and found the providers were delivering the services we require of them. Asylum seekers have access to health and social care services from the point of arrival in the UK and the Home Office and its contractors work closely with the NHS, Local Authorities and Non-Governmental Organisations to ensure people can access the healthcare and support they need. All accommodation providers have a duty and requirement to assist people who need it to access healthcare. The ICIBI saw evidence in their recent inspections that accommodation providers were assisting people to access the support they need. Details of the training requirements of all AASC provider staff are contained within the AASC Statement of Requirements and in addition to our assurance of provider training material the ICIBI saw evidence on their inspections that staff had received the basic training and there was evidence face-to-face staff had received enhanced training.

Colnbrook Immigration Removal Centre

Stephen Kinnock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the report by HM Inspectorate of Prisons on Colnbrook Immigration Removal Centre, published on 1 July 2022, if she will make an assessment of the implications for her Department’s policies of the (a) conclusions and (b) recommendations of that report.

Simon Baynes: The Government has fully considered the recommendations made by HM Chief Inspector of Prison following his inspection of Colnbrook immigration removal centre in March 2022. The Government’s response to the recommendations made, including the actions being taken forward, will be published on the Inspectorate’s website in due course.

Passports: Applications

Michelle Donelan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to clear the passport application backlog.

Kevin Foster: Her Majesty’s Passport Office has added 850 staff since April 2021. This has helped to ensure that more passport applications are being processed than ever before. Between March and May, 98.5% of UK applications processed were completed within ten weeks.Processing capacity will increase further, with an additional 350 staff arriving within the summer.

Home Office: Local Government

Stephen Farry: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 5 July 2022 to Question 24714, on Asylum: Northern Ireland, which bodies and organisations from Northern Ireland are represented on the Home Office Local Government Chief Executive Group (HOLGCEX).

Stephen Farry: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 5 July 2022 to Question 24714, on Asylum: Northern Ireland, on what dates the Home Office Local Government Chief Executive Group (HOLGCEX) met between 12 July 2021 and 12 July 2022; and on what date Northern Ireland first had representation on that Group.

Kevin Foster: The Northern Ireland Local Government Association (NILGA) and the Northern Ireland Executive are represented on the Home Office Local Government Chief Executive Group (HOLGCEX). Between 12 July 2021 and 12 July 2022, HOLGCEX met five times, on 6 September 2021, 2 December 2021, 16 March 2022, 28 April 2022 and 14 June 2022.

Northern Ireland Strategic Migration Partnership

Stephen Farry: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, on how many occasions and on what dates officials in her Department met representatives of the Northern Ireland Strategic Migration Partnership between 12 July 2021 and 12 July 2022.

Kevin Foster: Home Office officials have met regularly with the Northern Ireland Strategic Migration Partnership and its hosting body the Northern Ireland Local Government Association, in the course of routine business and through a number of engagement fora.

Asylum: Hotels

Stephen Farry: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what guidance is used to determine the quality and nature of meals to be provided to asylum seekers in contingency accommodation in hotels.

Kevin Foster: The Asylum Accommodation and Support Services Contracts (AASC) set out what we require of accommodation providers in relation to the provision of food in our accommodation. This includes providing three meals a day, refreshments, a food service for babies and small children, and options that cater for specific dietary needs or requirements. In addition accommodation providers should also ensure that each menu is validated by a suitably qualified nutritionist or health professional as being appropriate to the dietary needs of service users.Accommodation providers will also engage with supported asylum seekers in hotel accommodation to review provision of food and where appropriate amend the choices of food available. Where supported asylum seekers are unhappy with the food provided they are able to raise their concerns with operational staff within the contingency site, but also more formally via the Advice, Issue Reporting and Eligibility (AIRE) helpline which operates on a 24/7 basis and is free of charge.The Home Office monitors providers closely to ensure the requirements we set out in our contracts are being delivered, this includes physically inspecting contingency sites and food provision. Evidence submitted to the Independent Chief Inspector during his recent inspection of contingency accommodation showed that the accommodation providers were complying with the contractual requirement to have menus nutritionally validated and were providing a varied menu – usually rotating menus every 3 weeks. In addition, when physically visiting accommodation sites, inspectors noted menus on display at the sites appeared to be well balanced and showed food options were rotated to create variety. They also found all the properties that were required to supply meals provided the required number as stipulated in the contract requirements. Inspectors saw evidence specialist meals were provided and dietary needs were considered

Detention Centres: Staff

Stephen Kinnock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many full time equivalent staff work in Detention Engagement Teams; and how many of those staff are based at each Immigration Removal Centre.

Stephen Kinnock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what information her Department holds on the number of full time equivalent staff that worked in Detention Engagement Teams in (a) 2019, (b) 2020 and (c) 2021.

Simon Baynes: For security reasons, we do not give out figures of how many staff are working within specific roles within Immigration Removal Centres.We are committed to ensuring our operational teams have the resources they need to run an efficient and effective system and we actively monitor workflows to ensure sufficient resources are in place to meet demand.

Slavery

Christina Rees: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what proportion of eligible organisations under section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 have successfully complied with their obligation to report annually on the steps taken to prevent modern slavery in each year since that Act was introduced.

Amanda Solloway: Section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 established the UK as the first country in the world to require businesses to report annually on steps taken to prevent modern slavery in their operations and supply chains.Compliance with section 54 is high. In 2019, the Home Office contracted the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre (BHRRC) to undertake an audit of compliance with Section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015. The audit was concluded in January 2020 with data accurate up to this point. The high-level findings of this audit were published on 17 September 2020 in the Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner’s annual report (available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/independent-anti-slavery-commissioners-annual-report-2019-to-2020).To further drive compliance with section 54, the Government response to the Transparency in Supply Chains consultation, published on 22 September 2020, committed to taking forwards an ambitious package of measures to strengthen the Act’s transparency legislation, including:Extending the reporting requirement to public bodies with a budget of £36 million or more;Mandating the specific reporting topics statements must cover;Requiring organisations to publish their statement on the new Government registry The Government has also committed to introduce financial penalties for organisations who fail to meet their statutory obligations to publish annual modern slavery statements. These measures require primary legislation and, as announced in the Queen’s Speech, we intend to legislate in the forthcoming Modern Slavery Bill. In addition, in March 2021, the Government launched the modern slavery statement registry to radically enhance transparency by bringing together modern slavery statements on a single platform. The registry will provide a key tool for Government and others to monitor and drive compliance with section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015. We have been encouraged by use of the registry. Since launch, over 8,300 modern slavery statements covering over 27,800 organisations have been submitted on a voluntary basis.

Fraud: Costs

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate her Department has made of the total financial cost of fraud in the UK against (a) individuals and (b) businesses in (i) financial year 2020-21, (ii) calendar year 2021 and (iii) financial year 2021-22.

Stephen McPartland: We do not hold estimates for the total financial cost of fraud in the UK to individuals and businesses for the financial years 2020-21, 2021-22 or the calendar year 2021.We do have the published estimate for the 2015/16 total cost of fraud against individuals: £4.7 billion. This figure can be found at:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-economic-and-social-costs-of-crime The Crime Survey for England and Wales estimates the volume of fraud experienced by individuals and their average losses. This can be found at:https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/datasets/crimeinenglandandwalesappendixtables Action Fraud is our central reporting service and records reported financial losses experienced by businesses and individuals. This can be found at:https://colp.maps.arcgis.com/apps/dashboards/0334150e430449cf8ac917e347897d46

Former Prime Ministers: Protection

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the level of protection provide by the police to former Prime Ministers.

Stephen McPartland: It is our long-standing policy not to provide detailed information on protective security arrangements. To do so could compromise the integrity of those arrangements and affect the security of the individuals concerned.

National Crime Agency: Colombia

Tony Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the National Crime Agency’s website and media reports, whether the National Crime Agency has taken steps to ensure (a) training of and (b) assistance with the collection of intelligence to Colombian officials does not endanger (i) human rights defenders, (ii) opposition politicians and (iii) journalists in that country, including through (A) potentially unwarranted surveillance and (B) targeted reprisals.

Tom Pursglove: The NCA works with law enforcement partners around the world. In Colombia, the Agency works with the Colombian National Police and the Office of the Attorney General of Colombia. This activity is focused on reducing the threat to the UK from the cocaine trade in Colombia and the region, as well as disrupting the money laundering and other criminal economies linked to drugs trafficking and other organised crime.When cooperating and sharing intelligence with its international law enforcement partners, the National Crime Agency must comply with the Overseas Security and Justice Assistance guidance, which enables assessments to be made about the human rights and reputational risks of international security and justice work undertaken by the UK. It is also subject to the Principles relating to the detention and interviewing of detainees overseas and the passing and receipt of intelligence relating to detainees.

National Crime Agency

Tony Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the National Crime Agency is able to (a) vet policing personnel to be trained in Colombia and (b) monitor policing personnel already trained in Colombia to ensure they are not responsible for any future serious human rights violations including extra-judicial killings, disappearances and torture.

Tom Pursglove: The NCA works with law enforcement partners around the world. In Colombia, the Agency works with the Colombian National Police and the Office of the Attorney General of Colombia. This activity is focused on reducing the threat to the UK from the cocaine trade in Colombia and the region, as well as disrupting the money laundering and other criminal economies linked to drugs trafficking and other organised crime.When cooperating and sharing intelligence with its international law enforcement partners, the National Crime Agency must comply with the Overseas Security and Justice Assistance guidance, which enables assessments to be made about the human rights and reputational risks of international security and justice work undertaken by the UK. It is also subject to the Principles relating to the detention and interviewing of detainees overseas and the passing and receipt of intelligence relating to detainees.

Police: Recruitment

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps police forces are taking to recruit police officers from the local community.

Tom Pursglove: The Government is committed to recruiting an additional 20,000 police officers in England and Wales by March 2023, the biggest recruitment drive in decades.As at 31 March 2022, 13,576 additional officers have been recruited across 43 forces in England and Wales as part of the Police Uplift Programme.The Police Uplift Programme is supporting forces with a variety of attraction and recruitment strategies, whilst delivering a campaign that’s been designed to reach diverse audiences. This national activity complements local efforts to attract and recruit officers in each force from local communities.

Police: Mental Health Services

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what proportion of police matters involve members of the public who are experiencing mental health challenges (a) nationally and (b) in York.

Tom Pursglove: Data on the proportion of police matters involving members of the public who are experiencing mental health challenges is an operational matter for individual police forces and is not held centrally by the Home Office.However, the Home Office collects and publishes information on the number of persons in mental health crisis who are detained under section 136 of the Mental Health Act 1983, broken down by police force area, which can be accessed here:Police powers and procedures: Other PACE powers, England and Wales, year ending 31 March 2021 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)These data were collected by the Home Office on a mandatory basis for the first time in 2016/17, and were published as part of the Police powers and procedures, England and Wales statistical bulletin.

Julian Assange

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when the UK Central Authority received the requests from the Spanish courts investigating the alleged attempted assassination of Julian Assange.

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what response was provided to the request of the Spanish courts for evidence and assistance in their investigation into the alleged attempt to assassinate Julian Assange.

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assistance the Spanish authorities sought from her Department regarding the investigation into the alleged assassination attempts on Julian Assange.

Tom Pursglove: As a matter of longstanding policy, the UK would neither confirm nor deny the receipt of a request for mutual legal assistance.

Police: Wiltshire

Michelle Donelan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many police officers have been recruited in Wiltshire since 2019; and what steps she has taken to reduce crime in (a) rural areas and (b) Wiltshire.

Tom Pursglove: We are recruiting an additional 20,000 police officers in England and Wales by March 2023, the biggest recruitment drive in decades.As at 31 March 2022, Wiltshire Police had a total headcount of 1,152 police officers. 261 new officers have been recruited in total in Wiltshire since November 2019, equating to 111 additional officers, after replacing officers who retire or leave the force.We are also taking steps to address issues that we know affect rural communities, including Wiltshire. The Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act empowers and equips the police and courts with the powers they need to combat hare coursing. The Government is also providing funding for the National Wildlife Crime Unit.

Community Relations: Religion

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the potential contribution of street (a) pastors and (b) angels to public safety.

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will take steps to assess the role of street wardens in supporting street safety.

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to create safer streets, particularly during the evening and at night.

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to support local authorities with the provision of interventions to ensure that women feel safe when walking in their local areas at night.

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions she has had with relevant stakeholders on creating safe spaces in town and city centres for women and other vulnerable people to visit in the evening or at night.

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will take steps to ensure that people are aware of how they can access help in the event that they feel unsafe in a local area at nights or in the evening.

Tom Pursglove: We are delivering on the people’s priorities to cut crime and make our communities safe. The Safer Streets Fund provides local areas with the resources they need to prevent crime and improve safety in high crime locations across England and Wales. Since 2020, three Rounds of the Fund have completed, worth £70 million in Government investment. These rounds have focused on reducing neighbourhood crimes, such as burglary and robbery, and preventing violence against women and girls in public through interventions such as improved street lighting and home security, as well as education and training initiatives. The Fund has included funding for street pastors and similar guardianship initiatives.The Safety of Women at Night (SWaN) Fund also ran over the 2021/22 financial year and was focused on improving women’s safety in the night time economy, including through awareness raising initiatives, creating safe spaces, and targeting perpetrator behaviour. The SWaN and all rounds of the Safer Streets Fund are subject to independent evaluation to assess impact.This Government has committed £50 million a year to the Safer Streets Fund for the next three years. A fourth round of the Fund launched in March, open to Police and Crime Commissioners, local authorities, the British Transport Police, and eligible civil society organisations. This round focuses on improving the safety of women and girls in public, including in the night-time economy, as well as tackling neighbourhood crime and anti-social behaviour.

National Crime Agency

Tony Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how the overseas work of the National Crime Agency is (a) monitored and (b) evaluated in order to assess its effectiveness in combatting drug trafficking and drug use in the UK.

Tom Pursglove: The UK’s drugs strategy, published in December 2021, sets out the role of the NCA in tackling drugs supply and misuse in the UK and overseas.In June 2022, the government published guidance for local partners in delivering the strategy which included the National Combating Drugs Outcomes Framework. These high-level outcomes will provide a clear focus for national and local accountability. We will monitor the effectiveness the NCA and other partners in delivering the new strategy against progress towards these key outcomes including disruption of criminal groups involved in drugs supply. Central oversight of progress against the strategy is led by the cross-government Joint Combating Drugs Unit.Additionally, the NCA monitors its effectiveness using a performance outcomes framework, which assures delivery of the wider strategic priorities set by the Home Secretary. NCA performance is reported to parliament and publicly through its Annual Report and Accounts.

Police: Body Armour

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness and adequacy of the standard of police officer body armour from the perspective of (a) health and safety and (b) comfort.

Tom Pursglove: Home Office body armour standards take into consideration the relevant police operational requirements and threats to set the minimum performance levels for body armour.These standards are internationally recognised and ensure that body armour is safe and fit for purpose.

National Crime Agency

Tony Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what safeguards are in place to ensure that the National Crime Agency’s (a) cooperation and (b) intelligence sharing with officials and bodies in FCDO Human Rights Priority Countries is carried out without (i) violating the UK’s international human rights obligations, (ii) undermining the UK’s policy to oppose the death penalty in all circumstances and (iii) endangering people undertaking lawful activities, including as a result of potentially unwarranted surveillance.

Tom Pursglove: It is vital that the Government’s work on security and justice overseas is in accordance with our obligations under international law, including international human rights law.When cooperating and sharing intelligence with its international law enforcement partners, the National Crime Agency must comply with the Overseas Security and Justice Assistance guidance, which enables assessments to be made about the human rights and reputational risks of international security and justice work undertaken by the UK.It is also subject to the Principles relating to the detention and interviewing of detainees overseas and the passing and receipt of intelligence relating to detainees.

Business: Supply Chains

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to ensure that all businesses trading in the UK conduct due diligence to eliminate child labour from their supply chains.

Tom Pursglove: The landmark transparency provisions contained in section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 made the UK the first country in the world to require businesses with a turnover of £36m or more to report annually on the steps they have taken to prevent modern slavery, which includes child labour, in their operations and supply chains.The provision seeks to create a race to the top by requiring businesses to be transparent and enable consumers, investors, civil society and others to scrutinise action and monitor progress. The Government has committed to strengthening the reporting requirements contained in section 54. This will require primary legislation and as announced in the Queen’s Speech, we intend to legislate in the forthcoming Modern Slavery Bill.The Home Office’s statutory guidance to support organisations produce transparency statements recommends that statements should include the risk assessment and due diligence organisations undertook to prevent and tackle modern slavery.In addition, the Government supports the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, the international framework which sets out steps to guide business to do voluntary human rights due diligence to identify, prevent, mitigate and account for, impacts on human rights.

Refugees: Rwanda

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many vulnerable refugees from Rwanda does she estimate will be resettled in the UK under the April 2022 Memorandum of Understanding between the government of the United Kingdom and the government of the Republic of Rwanda for the provision of an asylum partnership arrangement.

Simon Baynes: As set out in the Memorandum of Understanding, a small number of the most vulnerable refugees in Rwanda will be resettled in the UK as part of the Migration and Economic Development Partnership.More details on the resettlement of vulnerable refugees will be set out in due course. More information on the Migration and Economic Development Partnership can be found here: Factsheet: Migration and Economic Development Partnership - Home Office in the media (blog.gov.uk)

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

Regeneration: Wiltshire

Michelle Donelan: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what funding the Government is providing to help regenerate town centres in Wiltshire; and what steps the Government is taking to incentivise private investment in town centres.

Lia Nici: The Government is investing £2.4 billion through the Towns Fund and £830 million through the Future High Streets Fund. This will help to renew and reshape town centres and high streets and incentivise further private investment. It includes £16.3 million for Trowbridge town centre and £9.3 million for Salisbury city centre through the Future High Street Fund which will leverage £456,000 of private sector investment.The Government is also investing in local areas through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund and has allocated £7.8 million to Wiltshire over the next three years. The Fund will seek to build pride in place and increase life chances across the UK. Proposed interventions include funding for improvements to town centres and high streets.Investment in regeneration and town centres is also one of the three investment themes for the £4.8 billion Levelling Up Fund which is currently open for round two bids and the £1.5 billion Levelling Up Home Building Fund is designed to support investment in housebuilding including infrastructure, enabling and bringing properties back into use. The Fund is now open for applications and private and public sector local partners will be supported by Homes England, the Government's housing accelerator.Other measures to support private investment in town centres include proposed new legislation in the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill which the Government announced on 11 May and will support bringing vacant units on the high street back into use by requiring landlords to rent out long-term vacant properties to prospective tenants such as local businesses.

Levelling Up Fund: Shrewsbury

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what recent assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of awarding levelling up funding to Shrewsbury.

Lia Nici: Shrewsbury will benefit from over £12 million of funding that was allocated to Shropshire from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. The UK Shared Prosperity Fund supports the UK Government's wider commitment to level up all parts of the UK.The second round of the Levelling Up Fund is now open for applications and will look to build on the success of round one, which saw £1.7 billion awarded to 105 successful projects across the UK. I would encourage Shropshire Council to bring forward any projects they feel may be suitable for the Fund prior to the application deadline of midday on 2 August.

Urban Areas: Regeneration

Abena Oppong-Asare: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what provisions his Department enforces to ensure that local authorities take into account the needs of people with (a) visual impairments and (b) learning difficulties when redeveloping town centres.

Lia Nici: We want to see thriving towns and high streets that are accessible to all. We set out how we will do this in the National Disability Strategy, published in July 2021.In addition, our national planning policy framework and design guidance encourages local planning authorities to set out local policies and plans that aim to create places that are safe, inclusive and accessible. My department is also embedding accessibility within our criteria for how we design and allocate investment to local regeneration projects.Round two of the Levelling Up Fund is currently open, with projects in scope including: accessibility improvements to local transport networks, the enhancement of infrastructure to help make town centres and high streets more accessible, and accessibility improvements to key cultural and heritage assets.

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities: Advertising

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how much their Department has spent on advertising in (a) 2020, (b) 2021 and (c) 2022.

Eddie Hughes: Spend on campaigns is published regularly on the gov.uk website as part of the department's transparency data: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/dluhc-departmental-spending-over-250

Housing Associations: Fees and Charges

Sir Gavin Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that transparency and accountability measures apply to housing association service charges.

Sir Gavin Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that tenants renting housing association properties receive value for money.

Sir Gavin Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if his Department will review the composition of housing association charges to ensure the equity of those charges for tenants.

Sir Gavin Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether his Department is taking steps to encourage housing associations to increase their engagement with tenants.

Sir Gavin Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if his Department will review housing associations’ compliance with existing legislation.

Eddie Hughes: The Government believes very strongly that service charges should be transparent and communicated effectively. The way a service charge is organised (for example, what it covers and how it is worked out) is set out in the lease or tenancy agreement. The Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 is clear that variable service charges, including any increase in costs, must be reasonable, and where costs relate to work or services, the work or services must be of a reasonable standard. This applies equally to social housing residents and tenants.  Leaseholders and tenants may challenge the reasonableness of their variable service charges by making an application to the First-Tier tribunal.The Government's policy statement on rents for social housing (published in February 2019) encourages registered providers of social housing to keep increases for services charges within CPI+1% per annum, to help keep charges affordable.  It also states that tenants should be supplied with clear information on how service charges are set, and in the case of social rent properties, providers are expected to identify service charges separately from the rent charge.The Regulator of Social Housing's Rent Standard says that registered providers must comply with all the requirements and expectations of the Government's Rent Policy Statement on the setting, increase and decrease of rents and service charges.  Regarding transparency and accountability, the Social Housing Regulation Bill, introduced in the House of Lords on 8 June, will facilitate the implementation of the new, proactive consumer regulation regime. As part of the new regime, landlords will be required to report on a set of Tenant Satisfaction Measures. These are being developed by the Regulator of Social Housing, and will include measures relating to tenant engagement. Landlords will also be required to publish a set of financial metrics, including information on management costs, to allow tenants to hold their landlords to account and ensure they are receiving value for money. The Bill will also facilitate the introduction of an Access to Information scheme, enabling housing association tenants to request information from their landlords relating to the management of their homes.This set of measures will ensure that residents can access key information regarding their homes and landlords, and will allow residents to have a stronger voice in decisions relating to their homes.

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities: Pay

James Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how many (a) direct employees, (b) contractors and (c) agency workers who work in his Department and relevant agencies and public bodies receive a wage below that of the (i) UK Real Living Wage outside of Greater London and (ii) London Living Wage inside of Greater London, as determined by the Living Wage Foundation.

Eddie Hughes: No permanent directly employed staff within the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) are paid an hourly rate less than that determined by the Living Wage Foundation.The Planning Inspectorate employs 11 apprentices on a wage below that determined by the Living Wage Foundation who are entitled to 20% time off for training during working hours.None of the department’s other arms-length bodies pay a wage below that determined by the Living Wage Foundation.Information on rates of pay for people working for the department’s third-party contractors is not held centrally.This Government is committed to paying people a decent living wage, which is being addressed through the statutory National Living Wage. In April 2022, the National Living Wage increased to £9.50 per hour. By 2024, the Government have committed that the National Living Wage will reach 66% of median UK earnings.

Members: Correspondence

Mr John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, pursuant to the Answer of 7 July 2022 to Question 29909, when he plans to respond to correspondence dated 24 January, 22 February, 29 March, 10 May, 15 May and 4th July 2022 from the hon Member for Basildon and Billericay, relating to a constituent, ref: JB36006 .

Paul Scully: A response has been issued to my Hon Friend.

Buildings: Safety

Kevin Hollinrake: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what measures his Department will take to locate polluters under the first tier of the waterfall model of liability contained in the Building Safety Act 2022 before placing liability on other parties.

Mr Marcus Jones: Under the Waterfall model set out in the Building Safety Act 2022, developers are the first to pay for the costs of remediating defective buildings, rather than the leaseholders that have previously been liable for costs During the previous Secretary of State’s appearance before the Levelling up and Housing Committee on 13 June 2022, he announced that a new Recovery Strategy Unit has been established to help pursue and expose developers who have failed to pay for defects that they have created.   The unit will identify and pursue these individuals and firms using all appropriate means, including through the courts, to ensure that developers do the right thing and take responsibility for defects they created.

Buildings: Safety

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the resources of the Health and Safety Executive for its role as the building safety regulator.

Mr Marcus Jones: The Building Safety Regulator has already been established in shadow form in the Health and Safety Executive. We have provided, and will continue to provide, the Building Safety Regulator with the funding it needs to perform its functions effectively.The Government and the Health and Safety Executive are developing detailed delivery plans to ensure the effective operation of the Building Safety Regulator as well as ensuring local authorities and Fire & Rescue Authorities are compensated for assistance that they will be expected to provide to the Building Safety Regulator.The Building Safety Act enables the Building Safety Regulator to recover costs from regulated parties through charging fees. This reflects that developers already pay for building control. We intend that the Government will provide some additional funding where cost-recovery is not practicable.

Housing: Fire Prevention

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will make an assessment of the potential dangers of relaxing regulations on combustible cavity trays in residential buildings.

Mr Marcus Jones: On 1 June 2022 the Government published a response to a consultation following the review of the ban of combustible materials in and on the external walls of buildings. The consultation proposed a temporary 18-month relaxation of the ban as it relates to cavity trays. This followed from issues highlighted to us on the excessive cost, supply, installation and durability of product on the market at the time.We consider it is appropriate, on balance, to allow for a short-term exemption for combustible cavity trays as the risk they pose remains low while providing temporary flexibility.The consultation response is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/review-of-the-ban-on-the-use-of-combustible-materials-in-and-on-the-external-walls-of-buildings/outcome/government-response-review-of-the-ban-on-the-use-of-combustible-materials-in-and-on-the-external-walls-of-buildings.We will continue to review the impact of the ban including this short-term exemption and to work with industry to better understand new products available on the market.

Buildings: Insulation

Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, when the cladding remediation fund for buildings between 11 and 18 metres will be (a) finalised and (b) open for applications.

Mr Marcus Jones: The Government is launching a new 11 to 18 metres cladding remediation scheme to fund work on buildings where a responsible developer cannot be identified. The new scheme will be funded by expanding the scope of the Building Safety Levy to raise an additional estimated £3 billion, providing the necessary funds to address cladding issues on these remaining buildings. We will announce further detail on the launch of the 11-18 metres Remediation Fund in due course.

Buildings: Repairs and Maintenance

Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps his Department is taking to increase the proportion of developers that have signed up to the Government's building safety repair pledge.

Mr Marcus Jones: The Government is clear that developers must take responsibility for buildings with which they are associated. As of 8 July, 48 developers have signed a pledge to undertake all necessary life-critical fire safety work on 11m+ buildings they had a role in developing or refurbishing over the past thirty years. Those pledges are being converted into legally binding contractual commitments. The department published the draft contract on 13 JulyIn parallel, the department continues to reach out to companies that were not involved in initial negotiations, inviting them to make similar commitments.The Government intends to establish a statutory Responsible Actors Scheme that eligible developers who do the right thing will be permitted to join. Eligible developers who are not members of the scheme may face significant commercial consequences. We will also use our recovery strategy unit and new powers in the Building Safety Act to pursue companies who fail to do the right thing.

Buildings: Repairs and Maintenance

Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, when he plans to engage with (a) building owners, (b) managing agents and (c) residents of buildings on delivery of the commitments pledged by developers for buildings those developers no longer own or control.

Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what his planned timetable is for finalising documentation to implement the developer’s pledge.

Mr Marcus Jones: On 13 July we published the draft of a contract with developers. The draft contract once finalised and executed will turn the commitments made in the pledge into a legally binding agreement.Publication marks the start of a four-week period of engagement, during which we will refine the contract as necessary. As well as discussing the contract with developers during this period, we will also engage other interested parties including representatives of building owners, managing agents, residents, leaseholders, lenders and insurers.We plan to have the terms of the contract finalised by 10 August. We expect developers to have signed the contract before the end of September.

Buildings: Repairs and Maintenance

Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, when he plans to publish a timetable for when developers who have signed the Developer Pledge should commence remediation works.

Mr Marcus Jones: On 13 July, we published the draft of a contract with developers. The contract turns the commitments made in the pledge into a legally binding agreement.Publication marks the start of a four-week period of engagement, during which we will refine and fine-tune the contract. We plan to have the terms of the contract finalised by 10 August. We expect developers to have signed a contract giving effect to the commitments they have made in the pledge by the end of September.We expect developers to make sure that remediation is completed without delay. Under the terms of the draft contract published on 13 July, developers will be required to set and report to my department on the progress of remediation works. My department will hold developers to account if they are not making progress as quickly as reasonably possible.

Buildings: Repairs and Maintenance

Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether his Department has secured funding from product manufacturers for building safety remediation works.

Mr Marcus Jones: In January we asked product manufacturers to make a public funding commitment by March. While many responsible developers have pledged to pay their share of costs, manufacturers have failed to deliver. The previous Secretary of State informed the Construction Products Association (CPA) that this is unacceptable, and that we are prepared to do whatever it takes to hold those companies to account.Our Building Safety Act gives developers, freeholders and leaseholders new legal remedies against manufacturers whose products fail to comply with regulations. The new Recovery Strategy Unit will identify and pursue individuals and firms that fail to do the right thing, including through the courts if necessary.

Buildings: Repairs and Maintenance

Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether his Department has made an assessment of the likely costs of all works required as a result of the Building Safety Act 2022.

Mr Marcus Jones: Our assessment of impacts for the Building Safety Act 2022 does not include an estimate of the cost of works resulting directly from the Act and no other estimate has been made.The Building Safety Act 2022 does not require new works to be conducted; it strengthens powers to require the carrying out of outstanding works which should have already been conducted to ensure compliance with building regulations and building safety.

Buildings: Repairs and Maintenance

Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether his Department has made an estimate of the number of buildings with safety defects where the individuals responsible for those defects cannot be located.

Mr Marcus Jones: The department has not made any assessments of the number of buildings with fire safety defects where the individuals responsible cannot be located.The department has published estimates on the number of mid-rise residential buildings which require remediation, partial remediation or mitigation to alleviate life-safety fire risk. This publication can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/estimating-the-prevalence-and-costs-of-external-wall-system-life-safety-fire-risk-in-mid-rise-residential-buildings-in-england.The department has also published information on the remediation progress of high-rise (over 18 metres) residential and publicly-owned buildings with ACM cladding systems unlikely to meet Building Regulations is available in the Building Safety Programme data release.For high-rise residential buildings with unsafe non-ACM cladding, the department is continuing to work with building owners to progress applications for the Building Safety Fund at pace so more remedial works can begin as swiftly as possible. Information on registrations to the Building Safety Fund can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/remediation-of-non-acm-buildings#building-safety-fund-registrations-private-sector-and-social-sector.

Building Regulations: Pollution Control

Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, when he plans to announce the measures his Department will take to locate polluters under the first tier of the waterfall model of liability set out in the Building Safety Act 2022.

Mr Marcus Jones: Under the Waterfall model set out in the Building Safety Act 2022, developers are the first to pay for the costs of remediating defective buildings, rather than the leaseholders that have previously been liable for costs During the previous Secretary of State’s appearance before the Levelling up and Housing Committee on 13 June 2022, he announced that a new Recovery Strategy Unit has been established to help pursue and expose developers who have failed to pay for defects that they have created. The unit will identify and pursue these individuals and firms using all appropriate means, including through the courts, to ensure that developers do the right thing and take responsibility for defects they created.

Building Safety Fund

Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, when he plans to publish the Grant Funding Agreements for the Building Safety Fund that are compatible with the Building Safety Act 2022.

Mr Marcus Jones: The Grant Funding Agreement will be published shortly.The department continues to make funding available via the Building Safety Fund and other existing funding programmes for buildings currently in scope, such as Funds for the remediation of ACM cladding. Applicants within the Building Safety Fund must continue to progress remediation works swiftly.

Housing: Greater London

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what estimate he has made of the number of (a) council, (b) housing association and (c) private sector dwelling developments that will be completed in 2022 in Greater London, by Borough; and what the equivalent figures were for (i) 2021, (ii) 2020 and (iii) 2019.

Mr Marcus Jones: The department does not publish housing completion forecasts in Greater London. The first release of 2022 housing supply indicators of new supply will be published in March 2023.Estimates of building control reported new build dwelling completions, by tenure of developer, for London in each of the last 3 years, are shown in Live Table 217, at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-house-building.These cover new build dwellings only and should be regarded as a leading indicator of overall housing supply.The department also publishes an annual release entitled 'Housing supply: net additional dwellings, England', which is the primary and most comprehensive measure of housing supply: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-net-supply-of-housing.These cover all housing supply, but data by tenure are not centrally collected.

Housing Associations: Building Alterations

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether his Department has made funding available to housing associations for (a) loft conversions and (b) extensions in suitable housing stock to help tackle overcrowding.

Mr Marcus Jones: The department does not make funding available to housing associations for these purposes. However, the Affordable Homes Programme makes funding available to housing associations (and other providers) to deliver new affordable homes. The provision of affordable housing is a key element of the Government's plan to end the housing crisis, tackle homelessness and provide aspiring homeowners with a step onto the housing ladder. The £11.5 billion Affordable Homes Programme for 2021-26 will provide up to 180,000 new homes across the country, should economic conditions allow.

Building Regulations

Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, when he plans to publish (a) explanatory notes and (b) guidance on the Government’s waterfall model of liability set out in the Building Safety Act 2022.

Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment he has made of the potential impact on remediation works of building owners not having the means to fund that work.

Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether his Department has plans to enable freeholders to pursue those responsible for defects through the legal recovery mechanisms set out in the Building Safety Act 2022 in order to be able to fund remediation works.

Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what plans he has to fund remediation in the event that funds for remediation of a particular building are not found once the waterfall model for assigning costs is exhausted.

Mr Marcus Jones: The Government is clear that those responsible for historical building safety defects must pay to put them right. The Building Safety Act 2022 brings forward robust and far-reaching legal protections for leaseholders from historical building safety costs. The leaseholder protection provisions eradicate the idea that the first port of call to pay to fix historical safety defects should be leaseholders. Where those directly responsible (e.g. developers) cannot be held to account, building owners and landlords are now the first port of call to pay for historical safety defects, not leaseholders.The Act makes it clear who is liable to pay for the remediation of historical building safety defects. The Act sets out in law where the liability sits, and developers, building owners and landlords must meet their obligations. Besides the leaseholder protection measures, there is already a plan for the remediation of unsafe cladding - developers will fix their own buildings, and funding will continue to be available via the Building Safety Fund, as well as a new scheme for buildings between 11-18 metres.Where it is not possible to identify those directly responsible for historical building safety defects, the protections spread the costs of decades of malpractice equitably across the system. Even where costs are shared with leaseholders up to the maximum capped account, building owner and landlords are liable for a share of the remainder, in accordance with the regulations on apportionment. The Act also contains enforcement powers for those circumstances where landlords and building owners do not comply with the leaseholder protection measures.We want building owners and landlords to be able to pursue those responsible for defective work and recover costs to fund remediation works. That is why the Building Safety Act includes an ambitious toolkit of measures to allow those responsible for defective work to be pursued. The Act has retrospectively extended the limitation period under section 1 of the Defective Premises Act 1972 from 6 to 30 years. The Act extends the reach of civil liability to associated companies of developers, including trusts, to ensure that some of the largest businesses in the sector who have used shell companies and other complex corporate structures can be pursed for contributions.  The Act has also created a cause of action which will allow manufacturers of construction products to be pursued where defective or mis-sold products have been used in buildings.The leaseholder protections in the Building Safety Act came into force on 28 June 2022. On 28 June, the Government published a guide to building safety costs in England, which gave advice on Frequently Asked Questions, to explain these legal changes. The explanatory notes have been updated following Royal Assent and will be published shortly. The government also intends to publish more detailed guidance on how the leasehold protections work in practice, now that the accompanying secondary legislation has come into force.

Cabinet Office

Civil Service

Beth Winter: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if his Department will publish plans for 20, 30 and 40 per cent reductions in civil service posts that it has received from departments that have an associated Select Committee.

Beth Winter: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether Parliament will be consulted on the functions and services that the Government will have to cease or reduce as a result of plans for 20, 30 and 40 per cent reductions in civil service posts.

Mr Jacob Rees-Mogg: Given that planning is still underway and no decisions have yet been made, as well as the sensitivities involved, it would not be appropriate to share departmental scenario planning. We are committed to a robust process of scrutiny and challenge in the months ahead, including focusing on impacts on public services, and will engage more broadly at the appropriate time.

Cabinet Office: Advertising

Jon Trickett: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much their Department has spent on advertising in (a) 2020, (b) 2021 and (c) 2022.

Mr Jacob Rees-Mogg: Expenditure on advertising across the three years requested is: YearSpend (£000s)2019/2041,3422020/21376,0292021/22168,730 Expenditure in 2021/22 is subject to the Department's audit being finalised, and is therefore provisional.

Chequers: Catering

Angela Rayner: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether (a) food, (b) drink and (c) catering costs at Chequers are paid for by the public purse.

Michael Ellis: As I outlined in my answer of 18 October 2021 to PQ 54006, Chequers is not a government building; it is run and managed by an independent trust. Official hospitality provided by the government (e.g. hosting the visit of a representative of a foreign government) is paid for by the public purse. Personal or party political hospitality is not. This has been the case under successive administrations.

Infected Blood Inquiry

Damian Hinds: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, when his Department plans to respond to the report by Sir Robert Francis entitled Compensation and redress for the victims of infected blood: recommendations for a framework, published on 7 June 2022.

Michael Ellis: I refer the Hon. member to the answer given to PQ 35990 on 18 July 2022.

Office for Veterans' Affairs

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many civil servants will be attached to the new role of Minister for Veterans’ Affairs.

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what salary is associated with the new role of Minister for Veterans’ Affairs; and whether that salary is being drawn from existing Office for Veterans’ Affairs funding.

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether a severance agreement is attached to the new role of Minister for Veterans’ Affairs.

Michael Ellis: Johnny Mercer MP was appointed as the first standalone UK Minister for Veterans' Affairs on 7 July in recognition of the seriousness with which this country takes supporting our veterans. No budget is attached to the new role, but the Office for Veterans' Affairs has a budget this financial year of £10.3m. Severance payments for Ministers are a statutory entitlement under section 4 of the Ministerial and other Pensions and Salaries Act 1991. Salary entitlements are set out in Schedule One of the Ministerial and Other Salaries Act 1975. The Minister for Veterans' Affairs’ salary is not being drawn from the Office for Veterans' Affairs' budget. Under current arrangements the Minister for Veterans' Affairs has been allocated one full-time Private Secretary.

Office for Veterans' Affairs

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what budget is attached to the role of Minister for Veterans’ Affairs; and whether that budget is being drawn from existing Office for Veterans' Affairs funding.

Michael Ellis: Johnny Mercer MP was appointed as the first standalone UK Minister for Veterans' Affairs on 7 July in recognition of the seriousness with which this country takes supporting our veterans. No budget is attached to the new role, but the Office for Veterans' Affairs has a budget this financial year of £10.3m. Severance payments for Ministers are a statutory entitlement under section 4 of the Ministerial and other Pensions and Salaries Act 1991. Salary entitlements are set out in Schedule One of the Ministerial and Other Salaries Act 1975. The Minister for Veterans' Affairs’ salary is not being drawn from the Office for Veterans' Affairs' budget. Under current arrangements the Minister for Veterans' Affairs has been allocated one full-time Private Secretary.

Department for International Trade

Trade Agreements: Australia

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, whether she will ratify the UK-Australia Free Trade Agreement before the 21 July 2022.

Penny Mordaunt: The Department for International Trade has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Trade Agreements: Australia

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the Trade (Australia and New Zealand) Bill on her timetable for ratifying the UK-Australia Free Trade Agreement.

Penny Mordaunt: The Department for International Trade has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Export Control Joint Unit: Civil Servants

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how many civil servants worked in the Export Control Joint Unit in (a) 2017, (b) 2018, (c) 2019, (d) 2020, (e) 2021 and (f) 2022.

Mr Ranil Jayawardena: The total numbers of civil servants working in the Export Control Joint Unit within my department for each year since 2017 is set out in the table below. Year Number2017 932018 802019 802020 842021 932022 91  The Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and the Ministry of Defence (MOD) supply staff for ECJU also. The Hon. Lady will need to seek information from those departments directly.

Trade Agreements: Conditions of Employment

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what recent steps she has taken to ensure that the rights of workers in Newport West constituency are maintained in all UK trade agreements.

Mr Ranil Jayawardena: HM Government shares the public’s high regard for workers' rights, and we have been clear that there will be no reduction in protections from existing trade deals or when signing up to new ones. Our agreements secured with both Australia and New Zealand demonstrate this. British workers across the country will benefit, including those of Newport West.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport: Advertising

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how much their Department has spent on advertising in (a) 2020, (b) 2021 and (c) 2022.

Matt Warman: Financial YearAdvertising spend*2019/2020£6,4872020/2021£198,540.922021/2022£274,906.722022/2023 (till date)£0*Advertising spend only includes money spent on media buying. Spend on marketing activities have been excluded

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport: Public Consultation

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions she has had with Cabinet colleagues on the use of deliberate democracy processes in forming departmental policy.

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions she has had with Cabinet colleagues on her Department’s deliberative democracy pilot.

Nigel Huddleston: The Innovation in Democracy Programme was a £550,000, one-year joint Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport and Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (now Department for Levelling Up, Housing, and Communities) programme that trialled innovative models of deliberative democracy to involve citizens in local decision making. We supported three local authorities (LAs) to pilot citizens’ assemblies, which enabled the LAs to convene a randomly selected but representative sample of residents to deliberate, reach consensus, and make recommendations about a difficult policy issue that the LA had to make. This led to people having an impact on local policy development and delivery.The programme ended in March 2020 and work in this field is no longer continuing. We published a publicly-available toolkit for local authorities and other policymakers about how to hold their own citizens' assemblies. Case studies for all three citizens’ assemblies are available on GOV.UK.

Broadband: Prices

Michelle Donelan: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the level of public awareness of social tariffs for broadband services; and if she will make an estimate of the number of households in Chippenham constituency that received a social tariff for broadband services in the last 12 months.

Matt Warman: Ofcom has a statutory duty to review the affordability of broadband services. In March 2022, Ofcom reported that 55,000 households had taken-up a social tariff, and 16% of eligible households were aware that the support existed.In April, the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport wrote to providers asking them to do more to promote their social tariffs and ensure low-income households are aware of the support available to them. On 27 June, all the UK’s major broadband and mobile operators agreed a set of new public commitments to support families through the global rising cost of living, which includes increasing efforts to promote their low-cost social tariff offers.DCMS does not collect data on social tariff take-up, but we continue to work closely with the industry and Ofcom to monitor take-up levels.

Social Media: Public Service Broadcasting

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answers of 14 July 2022 to Question 33716 and 33717 on Social Media: Public Service Broadcasting and Question 33718 on Internet: Public Service Broadcasting, whether exemptions for recognised news publisher content in regulations requiring social media companies to remove specific content will extend to the non-news content of public service broadcasters.

Damian Collins: Where a public service broadcaster qualifies as a ‘Recognised News Publisher’ as per clause 50 of the Bill, all their content will be exempt from online safety regulation, including any non-news content that they publish. This includes all content from the British Broadcasting Corporation and Sianel Pedwar Cymru among others.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Water Supply: Weather

Florence Eshalomi: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure that there is an adequate supply of water during the prolonged heatwave.

Steve Double: Water companies have a statutory duty to provide a secure supply of wholesome water at all times. Water companies are legally required to have robust plans in place to maintain the supply of water in a range of hazards, including heatwaves. Water companies use a range of measures to manage higher water demand expected during heatwaves and respond to any disruption. These measures include ensuring their networks are prepared, customer communications to help manage demand, re-routing of water via their networks, and the provision of alternative water supplies, for example via tanker deliveries. In the event of disruptions, water companies also maintain priority access registers, which vulnerable customers can register with for provision of bottled water. The Government is communicating frequently with water companies to monitor their performance and re-iterate the importance of maintaining supplies to customers during the heatwave.

Marine Protected Areas: Fisheries

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make it his policy to ban bottom-trawling in offshore Marine Protected Areas on a whole-site basis rather than a feature-based approach.

Steve Double: Each Marine Protected Area (MPA) protects specific features, whether that is a particular species or a variety of different habitats. We are currently consulting on five candidate Highly Protected Marine Areas (HPMAs). HPMAs would have the highest level of protection in English waters and would take a whole site approach.98 MPAs in English inshore waters already have byelaws in place to protect sensitive features from damaging fishing activities and the first four offshore byelaws have now been established. A Call for Evidence on byelaws in 13 more MPAs has recently closed. Byelaws are developed using an evidence-led process to determine what measures are required to protect sites. Site by site assessments are carried out to tailor management measures and to avoid unnecessary restrictions on fishing. Only fishing activities which could damage the protected features of an MPA require management, such as trawling on the seabed. We aim to have protection in place for all our offshore MPAs by 2024.

Flood Control: Shrewsbury

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has plans for the installation of flood barriers in Shrewsbury.

Steve Double: Significant investment in flood mitigation has taken place in Shrewsbury. The Environment Agency is looking at further options for those areas of Shrewsbury still impacted by flooding. These may include flood barriers or built solutions but could also be other forms of protection like Property Flood Resilience (PFR) measures or nature-based solutions. Efforts are currently focused on schemes to protect those communities in Shrewsbury with the highest impact from flooding and those closest to achieving the full amounts of funding required.

Flood Control: Expenditure

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much the Government has spent on (a) coastal protection and (b) river flood protection in each of the last 10 years.

Steve Double: Information on spend categorised separately between coastal protection and river flooding for each of the last 10 years is not available. Prior to 2015, spend was reported on combined flooding and coastal erosion risk management. However, government spend on coastal protection and river flooding, in addition to surface water flooding, is available in each year from 2015/16 to 2020/21 and is summarised in the table below. Between April 2015 and March 2021, the Government invested £2.6 billion in its first 6-year flood and coastal defence programme. This programme exceeded its target of better protecting 300,000 homes. In the current investment programme (2021-2027), the Government is investing a record £5.2 billion for flood and coastal erosion risk management. This is being invested in around 2,000 projects to better protect 336,000 properties. The Government’s 6-year investment programme is one of a number of sources of investment in flood and coastal defences in England. Other government funding benefits river and coastal flooding, as does local and business contributions.   Primary Flood Risk Source Coastal protection*River floodingSurface water flooding Government spend (£m) 2020/2119725013Government spend (£m)2019/20 17014421Government spend (£m) 2018/19 17619828Government spend (£m) 2017/18 14013310Government spend (£m) 2016/17 13617111Government spend (£m) 2015/16 14011911 * The Coastal protection category includes schemes that protect against sea flooding, tidal flooding and coastal erosion.

Dogs: Animal Breeding

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the prevalence of illegal puppy farming.

Victoria Prentis: This Government takes the issue of low-welfare and illegal supply of puppies very seriously. Significant steps have already been taken to improve and update the laws on dog breeding in England to crack down on unscrupulous breeders who breed dogs purely for financial greed at the expense of animal welfare.Under The Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018 (the 2018 Regulations) anyone in the business of breeding and selling dogs and/or who breeds three or more litters in a 12-month period needs to have a valid licence from their local authority. Licensees must meet strict statutory minimum welfare standards, including provisions to protect dogs from being bred from too often or at an early age, which are enforced by local authorities who have powers to issue, refuse or revoke licences. Local authorities are responsible for enforcing legislation in this area, and records of their enforcement activity are not centrally collated.The 2018 Regulations are due to be reviewed five years after they came into force (2023) and so this will be an appropriate time to re-examine the standards, the associated guidance and consider any changes.  As part of planning for this review, we are proactively working with partners, including local authorities, to collate data that can provide a picture of licensed and unlicensed activities involving animals in England, including dog breeding. We will be working with partners, including local authorities and stakeholder sector groups, while we undertake this review.Under the Animal Welfare Act 2006, local authorities, the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) and the police all have powers to investigate allegations of animal cruelty or poor welfare (including power of entry to inspect premises). Both licensed and unlicensed animal breeders are required under the 2006 Act to protect the animals involved in breeding from harm and to provide for their welfare in line with good practice. A breach of these provisions may lead to imprisonment, a fine, or both.In addition to welfare concerns applying to new pet owners being provided with pets from illegal domestic puppy farms, welfare concerns also arise in relation to imported pets. The "Action Plan for Animal Welfare" includes a commitment to address this issue and end the abhorrent, cruel practice of puppy smuggling and low-welfare pet imports.APHA works collaboratively with Border Force and other operational partners at ports, airports and inland, sharing intelligence to enforce the pet travel rules, disrupt illegal imports, safeguard the welfare of animals and seize non-compliant animals.The Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill was reintroduced following the Queen's speech and will progress to Report stage in the Commons as soon as Parliamentary time allows. The Bill allows us to further protect the welfare of pets by introducing restrictions to crack down on the low welfare movements of pets into Great Britain and includes powers to introduce new restrictions on pet travel and the commercial import of pets on welfare grounds, via secondary legislation.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Legal Costs

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much their Department and its associated agencies spent on legal disputes in (a) 2020, (b) 2021 and (c) 2022.

Victoria Prentis: Defra and its associated executive agencies1 have incurred the following costs on Litigation for the calendar years 2020 to 2022 (up to 30/6/22): Amount (£m)2Calendar Year0.93m20201.47m20210.61m2022  1: Includes the Animal and Plant Health Agency; the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science; Rural Payments Agency and the Veterinary Medicines Directorate.2: Source data from the Government Legal Department’s (GLD) electronic systems as at 8 July 2022. These figures represent the costs charged by the litigation team in GLD. It does not include any costs awarded against Defra or damages.

Honey: Testing

Sarah Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of product testing in controlling the import and sale of honey mixed with high quantities of sugar syrup.

Victoria Prentis: Work is being undertaken to ensure all honey meets our high standards. However, honey, is a complex natural product, meaning analysis to determine if honey has been adulterated can often be challenging. No single test can definitively determine a honey’s authenticity, and there are a range of different analytical methods available, from the well-established traditional validated methods to more recently developed advanced ‘fingerprinting’ tools such as NMR (Nuclear Magnetic Resonance). Allegations that some honey sold in the UK may be adulterated with added sugars, including the recent Honey Authenticity Project survey, are based on results using NMR. These have been investigated by the relevant local authorities, using a weight of evidence approach, and they concluded there was insufficient evidence to indicate fraud or non-compliance. Defra, the Food Standards Agency, Food Standards Scotland and the Government Chemist have been working together to identify areas where the Government can facilitate progress on some of the underpinning scientific issues that have emerged around honey authenticity testing, with the aim of providing further clarity to those carrying out monitoring and enforcement checks of honey, which protect consumers and legitimate businesses. Our programme of work on honey focuses on dissemination and knowledge transfer such as a webinar organised by the Government Chemist with Defra’s support. As part of our honey programme, we are also supporting work on testing methods which will look more in depth at issues such as ensuring method fitness for purpose and on standardising approaches.

Fish: Conservation

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, which species his Department defines as a forage fish for the purposes of conservation.

Victoria Prentis: Forage fish are important to the ecosystem as they provide food for predator fish and sea birds. We are reviewing our policy on forage fish that are caught for industrial purposes. In the context of the Northeast Atlantic, there are specific fleet segments that specialise in this type of fishing, and their effort within UK waters is targeted on particular species, principally sandeel and Norway pout.

Total Allowable Catches

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make it his policy to replace the (a) turbot and brill and (b) witch and lemon sole total allowable catches with single-species total allowable catches.

Victoria Prentis: We have asked the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) to update its advice from 2018 on the effectiveness of management arrangements for these stocks which are managed by joint TACs. ICES have indicated their advice will be available during the autumn and we expect to make it our policy for the annual fisheries negotiation with the EU to manage these stocks based on the updated advice provided by ICES. This request to ICES is an example of the work we are doing through the Specialised Committee for Fisheries to address challenges where we think new or different advice is needed.

Fisheries: Quotas

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make it his policy to establish fishing quotas for target stocks at a level that would help prevent accidental catches of bycatch species at a level that would exceed sustainable limits.

Victoria Prentis: In developing our position on annual total allowable catch, Defra makes use of the best available science and takes account of the interaction between species that can be caught together. We are mindful of the need to uphold a balance that maintains fish stocks, including bycatch species, at sustainable levels.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Advertising

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much their Department has spent on advertising in (a) 2020, (b) 2021 and (c) 2022.

Victoria Prentis: The attached table outlines the Department spend on advertising in the years 2020, 2021 and 2022.Advertising spend (pdf, 13.0KB)

Marine Environment

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make it his policy to adopt a more precautionary approach to the exploitation of deep sea species.

Victoria Prentis: Applying a precautionary approach is an objective of the Fisheries Act 2020 and, a principle of the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement for UK-EU shared stocks. Deep sea stocks are data poor, this means there is less data available about the stocks’ health compared to other species and therefore the UK already adopts a precautionary approach to improve the protection of these vulnerable species. In addition to jointly setting total allowable catch levels through annual negotiations, the UK and EU are developing measures to support the long-term recovery of deep sea species including roundnose grenadier and western red seabream via the Specialised Committee on Fisheries.

Fish: Conservation

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make it his policy to negotiate a zero total allowable catch for roundnose grenadier (a) in the EU/UK negotiations and (b) at the North East Atlantic Fisheries Commission.

Victoria Prentis: Scientific advice received from the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea underpins the UK position when negotiating sustainable total allowable catches (TACs), including those for roundnose grenadier. Currently the UK holds a small TAC allocation for incidental bycatch and does not actively target the stock. We are committed to restoring stocks to healthy conditions, including taking a precautionary approach where necessary. This commitment is confirmed in the Fisheries Act 2020 and will inform our approach to deep sea species in both the UK EU bilateral negotiations for 2023/24 and our representation at the North-East Atlantic Fisheries Commission.

Honey: Fraud

Sarah Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the impact of honey fraud on beekeepers and honey producers.

Victoria Prentis: We recognise the importance of quality standards for all foods, including honey. All honey on sale, regardless of where it has come from must comply with the Honey (England) Regulations 2015 which set out detailed specifications in terms of its composition, labelling, and quality criteria. Honey fraud by means of addition of sugars, or anything else to honey, is not permitted. The UK produces a relatively small amount of the honey consumed domestically and relies heavily on imports to meet consumer demand and provide a reliable year-round supply. The UK has a thriving and diverse honey market, giving consumers access to a wide range of products, from mono-floral varieties to single origin and blended honeys, at a wide range of different price points. Defra, along with other partners, is very active in ensuring honey, meets our high standards regardless of where it has been produced. We have an active food authenticity programme to ensure honey sold in the UK is not subject to fraud, meets our high standards and maintains a level playing field between honey producers.

Women and Equalities

Social Class: Employment

Sir Stephen Timms: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, whether her Department has commissioned research on the socioeconomic background data for (a) work experience schemes, (b) apprenticeships and (c) entry-level applicants held by large employers.

Sir Stephen Timms: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what assessment she has made of the extent to which large employers refer to socioeconomic background data of applicants to inform their recruitment and progression policies.

Amanda Solloway: This Government believes the circumstances of one's birth should not determine life outcomes. The Social Mobility Commission (SMC), an independent body sponsored by the Equality Hub in the Cabinet Office, works to achieve this aim.The SMC published research in June 2020 that examined how people from disadvantaged backgrounds have fared within the apprenticeship system. In keeping with the findings from this research, the SMC's employer engagement team produced a practical toolkit for employers, training providers and apprenticeship practitioners to increase the socio-economic diversity of apprenticeship starts.This includes guidance on how employers can collect the socio-economic background data of their applicants in order to understand where barriers may exist, which interventions can support socio-economic inclusion and how to monitor progress.The SMC's employer engagement team works with employers of varying size across multiple sectors to create more inclusive and diverse socio-economic workforces, drawing on research and engagement with employers and industry trade bodies to develop practical guidance for employers.

Prime Minister

Employment

Sir Stephen Timms: To ask the Prime Minister, pursuant to his Answer of 14 July 2022 to Question 33662 on Employment, for what reason he has not corrected the record with a Ministerial Correction in the Official Report in respect of oral contributions on the level of employment in the UK.

Sir Stephen Timms: To ask the Prime Minister, pursuant to his Answer of 14 July 2022 to Question 33662 on Employment, what assessment he has made of the likelihood that people reading the record of his statements on the level of UK employment will become aware of his Answer of 23 June 2022 to Question 18053 or his letter of 26 April 2022 to the Liaison Committee; and if he will make a statement.

Sir Stephen Timms: To ask the Prime Minister, what assessment he has made of the circumstances in which making a Ministerial Correction in Hansard is appropriate.

Boris Johnson: As I have previously noted, my answer of 23 June 2022 to PQ 18053, and my letter of 26 April 2022 to the Liaison Committee (a copy of which was placed in the Library of the House), clarified my previous answers. Corrections and clarifications can be made in a number of ways.I note the Procedure Committee is looking into these processes in more depth, and the Government looks forward to engaging with its inquiry.